Family Secret
by Scarlet and Azure
Summary: The sequel to "Family Vacation". The third in the Family AU. Gintoki and Tsukuyo faced new school year and the secret hidden by Yoshida family started to reveal itself.
1. New school year, new thoughts

**Gintama does not belong to me but to Sorachi Hideaki-sensei**

 **Well, this is the third sequel to the Family AU. I have to tell you that I am incredibly busy lately so this fic is not going to be updated as fast as the previous two. It may even take weeks for me to write the next chapter, I don't know. And I still want to finish that one Naruto fanfic I have. And well... here it goes**

"Tsukuyo! It's time for breakfast!"

"I'm coming Nee-san!" Tsukuyo checked all of her things in her backpack and made sure she had everything ready. She closed it and with her bag on her back, walked out of her room and into the dining room. Hinowa and Seita were already there. Her older sister smiled at Tsukuyo when she entered the room.

"Ready for a new school year?"

"Well, it's not like many things are going to change. I mean I only go up one year. Seita, on the other hand..."

Seita was practically bouncing in his seat. "What's elementary school's like? What're the teachers like? What kind of games are there?" The boy started going to elementary school this year and he was excited as he was anxious.

"Well, first of all there is no game in elementary school" Tsukuyo told him. That got him quiet.

"Really? Then what are we doing in elementary school?"

"You just study." When Seita looked anxious, Tsukuyo quickly added "But you're going to learn a lot of fun things there. The teachers will answer all the questions you want to know."

"And you will make a lot of friends" his mother added. "Izumi-chan and Kotarou-kun will go with you right?" Izumi was one of Seita's close friends and Kotarou was her brother.

Seita finally cheered at the mention of his friends. "Yes!" His mother and aunt smiled, knowing he no longer worried about going to elementary school. "What's it like when you were in elementary school, Tsukuyo-nee?"

Tsukuyo froze. What was it like? She started to recall what it was like. She didn't make any friends. She buried herself in her books, spending all of her time studying. Some students bullied her, and the rest didn't care or were too afraid to defend her. Not even the teachers dared to defend her because the one who bullied her was the daughter of the school's benefactor. She was called "Hideous Scarred Girl". They always said she was ugly and poor and filthy, for living in red light district and having a prostitute for a sister. The memories swam inside her head. Hinowa frowned, knowing that it was a touchy topic.

"Tsukuyo-nee?" Seita asked again. Hinowa put a hand on her younger sister's shoulder reassuringly, snapping Tsukuyo out of her daze. She turned to look at her nephew again. A smile slowly showed on her face.

"It was fun of course." Tsukuyo tried not to think about it. Their life was different now. Seita wouldn't go through what she did.

They ate their breakfast in silence. "Are you going to the boutique today, Nee-san?" she asked her older sister. Hinowa worked for Nishikiya, the best clothing shop in the country.

"Yes. Oryou-san is going to pick me up around ten a.m. I have to do something in the shop." While Hinowa worked for Nishikiya, sometimes she only had to send her designs through email. She couldn't walk and was confined to a wheelchair, and because of her condition, she couldn't go back and forth to the shop and their home. But when the workers really needed her for something, they would pick her up and she would go to Nishikiya boutique not far from Tsukuyo and Seita's school.

Tsukuyo nodded. "I'll pick you up when it's time for you to go home."

"Oh no need for that Tsukuyo. I'm just working there for a short while today and Oryou-san will take me home with her car." She glanced at the clock and clapped her hands together. "It's almost time. Come on you two, hurry up. You won't want to be late for the first day of school."

Tsukuyo and Seita quickly ate their breakfast. After they finished eating, they grabbed their backpacks, said good bye to Hinowa and walked out of the house. Tsukuyo offered to hold Seita's hand as they walked toward Gintama Elementary School. But he refused, saying that it's embarrassing. They arrived at the school gate and Seita spotted his friends, who waved at him.

"Are you okay if I leave now?" Tsukuyo asked him.

"Oh, come on Tsukuyo-nee. I can take care of myself."

She smiled and ruffled his hair. "Alright. See you after school."

Seita ran to his friends and waved at Tsukuyo, who waved back at him. She then went to her own school, Gintama High School. She was not a sophomore anymore. She was a senior now. She had to start thinking about her future carrier, more specifically what major she would take in college. She sighed as she still hadn't think about that. She arrived at the entrance gate and saw some new faces. _Of course. The freshmen._

Tsukuyo finally spotted some of the seniors, gathered around the school board, trying to find out their classes and who their classmates were. She went there as well, to find which class she was in. But before she arrived there, she spotted her three best friends standing in front of the crowd, with smiles on their faces as they looked at one another. They then noticed her and ran to her almost instantly.

"Tsukki!" Ayame greeted.

"Good morning too Ayame. And you guys too, Tae, Kyuubei."

"Happy new school year" Tae replied, smiling prettily. Kyuubei nodded and smiled.

"That's not important!" Ayame said. "Do you know the four of us are in the same class?"

Tsukuyo widened her eyes in shock as the three's grin widened. "No way? Really?"

"See for yourself." They pulled her to the board and pointed to the list. She read it quickly and sure enough, all of their names were in the same row. Tsukuyo smiled widely and turned to her grinning friends. The four girls shrieked as they hold each other's hands and jumped around, earning annoyed glares from the other seniors surrounding the board.

Tsukuyo went to look at the list again, to see who else were in her class. She spotted some familiar names, but what surprised her was reading the name Yoshida Kotarou and Yoshida Shinsuke in her class' row. Gintoki's brothers were in the same class as her? What about Gintoki himself? She searched for her boyfriend's name and was disappointed when she found they were not in the same class.

"Gin-san's not in the same class as us. So it's true that the staff purposely put couples in different classes" Tae said.

"Eh? Really?" Tsukuyo said, turning to Tae.

Tae nodded. "Yes. I heard that it's to make the seniors focus more on the study and not relationship."

Well, that made sense. Tsukuyo was a bit sad for not being in the same class as Gintoki. They were in the same class in their freshmen and sophomore years and she was going to miss having him pestering her any chance he got. But they still could meet during break or after school. Speaking of her boyfriend, she didn't see him.

Tsukuyo looked around the crowded school yard and finally spotted Gintoki near the Sakura tree. He was standing with his brothers, sister, Sougo and Kamui. It was a bit strange for Tsukuyo seeing Nobume, Sougo and Kamui wearing high school uniforms, being used to see them in their middle school uniform. Nevertheless, she felt she had an obligation to greet them. Excusing herself from her friends, she walked toward the group of six people. They seemed to be talking heatedly about something, but calmed down when they spotted her.

"Hi, Tsukuyo-san/Tsukuyo!" they all greeted her.

"Hi everyone. Welcome to high school, Nobume, Sougo, Kamui. It's nice to see you here."

The three freshmen nodded at her. "Nice to see you too, Tsukuyo-san" Kamui replied. "We're going to have a lot of new _fun_ here" he said, smirking mischievously. Tsukuyo shuddered a little.

"Though I like the middle school uniform better. These clothes are a bit dull, don't you think?" Nobume commented, looking at her uniform.

"Well, that's the way it always is" Tsukuyo replied.

"I wonder what we can do here" Sougo mumbled, more to himself.

"Now that you two are here, there're many things we can do together" Gintoki said, grinning mischievously. Sougo and Kamui gave him matching grins. Tsukuyo shuddered again. She remembered about them being called Trio Sadists but she didn't want to think about it.

"Gintoki, you're a senior now. Set a good example for our juniors and focus on your study" Tsukuyo said.

Gintoki rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. I know." He then looked at her, and this time he smiled softly. "Nice to see you again, after the long weekend."

Tsukuyo smiled. "I know. I miss you too. Though I'm a bit disappointed that we're not in the same class this year."

Gintoki frowned. "Yeah, I know. It sucks. And instead of me, you've got to be in the same class with these two idiots" he said, pointing his thumb toward his two brothers.

"Who are you calling idiots?!" Kotarou and Shinsuke said in unison.

Kotarou then turned to Tsukuyo. "Oh yes, Tsukuyo-san. As Gintoki has told, we're in the same class."

"Yes, I already know. Let's help each other through this year. You too Shinsuke-kun."

Shinsuke nodded at her. "Sure."

She then leaned to him discreetly. "So how are things regarding _that_?" she whispered to him.

"About what?"

"You know..." Tsukuyo glanced at Nobume and Shinsuke widened his eyes.

"What the-no, there's nothing! And I don't think there would be any" he said, blushing a little.

Tsukuyo frowned. "I'm not going to let you go about this. Now that we're in the same class, expect me to keep asking you about this."

Shinsuke sighed. He started to regret having her as his classmate. Moreover, he regretted telling her about his feelings for Nobume.

Nobume watched the two from the corner of her eyes. She secretly felt dejected at the fact that Tsukuyo and Shinsuke were in the same class. Now they were in the same class and Gintoki wasn't there with them, they would get closer. And what were they talking about just now? She swore she could see Shinsuke blush a little. Nobume looked away from them, sulkily.

"Nobume? What's wrong?" Kotarou asked his younger sister.

"It's nothing Kota-nii."

Meanwhile, Gintoki, Sougo and Kamui were busy planning (plotting) something in the background.

* * *

After they went through the opening ceremony, the students went to their new classes. Gintoki and Tsukuyo had promised to meet after school and that got Tsukuyo excited as she went into her new class with her three girl friends. A man, wearing sunglasses despite being in a room walked in. He put some documents on the teacher's table.

"My name is Hasegawa Taizou and I'm going to be your Homeroom teacher. Now, let's get to know your names."

Tsukuyo didn't really pay attention to the lectures. She was waiting for the time the school end. Since it was the first day, they didn't really study anything. There were only some introductions to the new courses. And of course, the drill. The teachers kept reminding them about the future.

 _"You're a senior now. Think about what you want to do in the future."_

They kept saying that to the students. What did she want to do? Tsukuyo was still not sure. She walked out of the class when school was finally over. She saw Gintoki waiting for her beside the entrance gate and smiled. They walked out of school together.

"How's your class?" Tsukuyo asked him.

"Fine I guess. Tatsuma, Zenzou, and that bastard Hijikata are in my class. There are some others but they're not important. How's yours?"

"Fine I guess. Tae, Ayame and Kyuubei are in my class. This is the first time that the four of us are actually in the same class and we're really excited."

Gintoki smiled. "Well, that's good. But seriously, even at the first day, they already give speech to the students. It makes the start of the year stressing" Gintoki complained.

"What speech?" she asked.

"You know... Something about the future."

Tsukuyo went quiet. "Gintoki... have you... have you decided the major you'll take in college?"

Gintoki blinked. He then went silent, a thoughtful look crossed his face. "Actually... I was thinking about taking laws."

"Laws?" Tsukuyo asked, surprised. Among all the majors she thought would suit him, she didn't expect him to pick law of all things. "Why laws?"

"Is there something wrong with that?"

"Well, no. It's just... I never expected you to pick that of all majors."

Gintoki shrugged. "Oboro-nii-san already takes Educational Studies major. He's going to take over the school after Dad retires. Shinsuke's going to take Music Major since he wants to be a musician. Kotarou's going to take Political Science Major cause he wants to be politician. Nobume, I heard she's going to join Mimawarigumi military academy. Well, she likes fighting and I'm sure she can survive that. Then I thought what more can I offer? I don't know. All of my siblings seem to know what they're going to do. And I thought about what I want to do. I never tell anyone about this but I want to help a lot of people. And what is the job that can make me help a lot of people? I still don't really know. Sure, I can be a cop, but we have Nobume who will do that. For now, I'm thinking about becoming a lawyer or something like that. But it can change later on."

Gintoki would die if he ever told anyone about this. He was too proud to admit that he loved helping the people around him. But he never hid it from Tsukuyo. Because she knew him all too well for him to hide anything from her. Just like with his father.

Tsukuyo smiled gently. "A lawyer, huh? I think it suits you. I mean you do have a knack in coming up with excuses, even if you're wrong. I'm sure you can defend your client."

"What, is that a compliment or an insult?"

Tsukuyo chuckled, but deep down, she felt a bit insecure. What about her? What would she do in the future?

"What about you?" he asked her.

"I... still don't know."

"Well, you'll have an idea later on. Don't worry."

Tsukuyo smiled at him and nodded. Gintoki looked at her and he knew she was still distraught. He then looked to their left. There was a small hill near their school, which separated them from the other side of the town. He spotted a long stairs, leading to the top of the hill. "Hey, what's that?"

Tsukuyo looked at what he saw. She followed the stairs up the hill. "Oh it's a temple. I've heard about it from Kyuubei before. She said the temple is selling some powerful charms and the possibility for your wishes to come true is higher if you pray here."

"What kind of charms?" he asked.

"There are many kinds. For romantic relationship, for family, for finance, for success and many others."

"Is that true?"

"I don't know. It's just a rumor."

"Have you prayed here before?"

"No."

Gintoki looked up at the temple. "Want to try praying here?"

Tsukuyo looked at him. "You want to?"

"Well, why don't we try? For the future."

 _For the future._ Tsukuyo looked up at the temple thoughtfully. "Well, let's go up there."

"It's just a suggestion. You don't have to do it."

"No, I want to."

"Don't you have to pick Seita?" Gintoki asked.

"This won't be long. He can wait for a few more minutes" Tsukuyo replied.

Gintoki nodded. "Alright." Suddenly, his eyes flicked at something on the other side of the road. A crepes vendor. Tsukuyo followed his line of sight and smiled in amusement. "On a second thought..."

"You'll catch up with me later?" she said, finishing his words. He scratched his pink cheeks sheepishly.

"Yeah, I'll catch up with you later."

Tsukuyo sighed, her eyes glinting in amusement, and walked up the stairs as Gintoki crossed the road toward the crepes vendor. Wishes or not, sweets would always be number one in his book.

Tsukuyo arrived at the top of the stairs and saw a fairly modest and clean temple. But there's no one there. A large red torri stood at the entrance. There was the rack of charms at the right side of the temple. On the left side was a cobbled path leading to a place behind the shrine. Could it be there's a house behind it? A Buddha statue sat in the middle. The shrine was small but completely clean. Tsukuyo walked toward the rack of charms and looked at them. They were surely different than the charms she had seen from other temples, though she couldn't explain why. There was one with the kanji that said _"Finding"._ She picked the charm and inspected it.

"Who's there?" a feminine voice suddenly said behind her, startling Tsukuyo. She thought there was no one here. In her shock, she dropped the amulet and her bag, the content spilled out of it.

"I-I'm sorry. I thought there's no one here" Tsukuyo said as she hastily kneeled down to pick up her things and the charm.

"It's okay. I'm sorry for startling you too. It's just rare for some visitors to come here lately" the person said as she too kneeled to help Tsukuyo gathered her things.

Tsukuyo saw two pale hands helped her gathered her things when she looked down. "Thank you" she said, looking up at the person. "No problem" the other said, looking up as well. Suddenly, everything was frozen.

Tsukuyo blinked. She felt like she was looking into a mirror. Because she was seeing her own face. Blonde hair and amethyst eyes. It's just like her. But there's something different. There's no scar. She gaped at the person in front of her and the other was looking at her with identical shocked expression.

"I... You..."

"You... Me... We..."

"..."

"..."

"You look just like me!" the two girls exclaimed at the same time.

Tsukuyo gaped in shock at the girl in front of her. Her face looked just like hers. She had short neck-length blonde hair and amethyst eyes. While she was wearing her school uniform, the other girl was wearing Hakama, like what miko usually wore. The other girl seemed to be as shocked as her.

"Oh... my God..." she mumbled.

Now that they looked at each other, they noticed that they were not completely the same. For one thing, the girl didn't have scars on her face like Tsukuyo did. Instead, there was a horizontal scar along her neck, like someone had cut it. And while the two had blonde hair, the other girl was a lighter shade of blonde, to the point that it was almost gray. Tsukuyo's hair was shoulder length, while the other girl's hair was neck length. Other than that, they looked pretty much identical.

After they calmed down from their shock, they stared at each other awkwardly. They then chuckled awkwardly in unison, and everything was silent again. "I... I never met someone who looked just like me before" the other girl said, smiling at Tsukuyo.

Tsukuyo smiled back at her. "Me too... Um... I'm Tsukuyo" she said and offered her hand to the other girl, a bit awkwardly.

The other smiled at her and shook her hand. "My name is Asaemon. It's nice to meet you."

The two girls smiled at each other. They didn't know why, but they had already felt close to one another despite just meeting each other. And it's not just because they looked like each other.

"Do you live here?" Tsukuyo asked her.

"Sort of. My sisters and I guard this temple" Asaemon replied. She then looked at the charm in Tsukuyo's hand. "Are you interested in buying that?"

"What? Oh this? I'm just curious. My friends said about the charms here being potent."

Asaemon smiled. "Maybe. It's thanks to Ane-nee-san and Mone-nee-san's prayers." She then beckoned Tsukuyo to look at the charms at the rack once more. "We have many things here. You'll have charm that makes you know who your soul mate is. A charm who helps you keep your family life happy. A charm that helps you reconcile with someone when you have a fight and there are many more."

Tsukuyo looked at the charm in her hand. "What does this one do?"

Asaemon looked at the charm. "Oh, I remember this one. Mone-nee-san said something about this charm helping you find something important in your life."

"Something important?" Tsukuyo questioned. "What is it?"

Asemon frowned. "I honestly don't know. It's really vague. Maybe it will help you find what you are meant to do in life... or something..."

Tsukuyo blinked at this. _Find what you are meant to do?_ She stared at the amulet. "I think I'll buy this one."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. How much does it cost?" Asaemon named the price and Tsukuyo was surprised of how cheap it is. She then gave her the money.

"You attend Gintama School, right?" Asaemon said, having noticed her uniform.

"Yes. What school do you attend? I don't think I've seen you around here."

"I attend Sakura High School, at the other side of the town" she said, pointing to the west toward the back of the hill, the opposite side of Gintama School.

"Oh, I know that school. I heard our schools are going to have joint festival this semester."

"Yes. Maybe we can meet again during that time." The two girls smiled at each other. Suddenly, a cry was heard from the house behind the shrine.

"Asaemon! Please help with the cooking here!"

"I'm coming Ane-nee-san!" Asaemon cried back. She then turned to Tsukuyo. "If you want to pray, just pray at the shrine. If there's something you want to buy, just go to our house." She then smiled. "If you have some spare time, you can come again. Bring your friends or family next time."

Tsukuyo smiled back at her. "I will. Thank you very much. I'm actually here with my boyfriend. But he's down there, buying crepes."

"Oh, the crepes vendor at the other side of the road, right?"

"Yeah." Tsukuyo sighed, but smiled fondly. "He has a severe sweet tooth."

"Sweet tooth..." Asaemon mumbled. Her eyes were glazing and Tsukuyo looked at her worriedly.

"Is something wrong?"

"What? Oh, it's nothing" she said, snapping out of her daze.

"Asaemon!" another cry was heard.

"I'm coming!" the girl called out. "I'm sorry I have to leave."

"It's okay. Maybe we can talk again when I visit next time" Tsukuyo said. They smiled at each other. They didn't know why but they felt so close to each other already even though they didn't talk for long. And for some reason, they were reluctant to part.

Asaemon left, and a few seconds later, Gintoki came with crepes in hands. He handed one to Tsukuyo. She knew he would buy one for her as well. "Thank you" she said, smiling at her boyfriend.

But Gintoki wasn't looking at her. He was staring at the direction where Asaemon had gone. Tsukuyo tilted her head, confused. "Gintoki?"

"Who's that you're talking to just now?"

"Oh, just one of the mikos guarding this temple. What's wrong?"

Gintoki didn't answer her. He looked curious, confused, uncertain and... sad. "I think I saw..." he mumbled quietly. After a while, he finally averted his eyes. "No, it's nothing. Want to pray for our future?"

Tsukuyo raised an eyebrow at her boyfriend's odd behavior but decided to dismiss it for now. They rang the bell, put some money inside the wooden box, clapped their hands and started to pray. Tsukuyo glanced at her boyfriend for a minute. He still looked distraught. Like he was remembering something painful, something he wanted to forget, something he wanted to put behind him.

 **That's chapter one. I'm not sure when I will update this but I hope soon. See you in the next chapter.**


	2. Date someone you are comfortable with

Oboro sat inside a cafe in one of the biggest table. The people around him were chatting and laughing together. He did speak whenever he was invited to join the conversation, but other than that, he was quiet. He was never one to be in social gathering. He didn't even remember how he came to be a member of this fraternity group. He felt someone elbowed him and turned to his left. A blue-haired young woman, with spiky hair style grinned at him.

"Cheer up control freak. We're here to have fun with each other. Speak more."

Tetsuko. Right. He forgot about that. This childhood friend of his was actually the one who dragged him into this fraternity group. The only reason she dragged him into this was because she though he focused to much on his study that he never really socialized with other students. Well, it's not that he disliked it. The people in this group were very nice to him, and it's not just because he was the dean's son. But he preferred to be alone if he could choose. He glanced at the far end of his right and saw Ikumatsu, another one of his childhood friend. Apparently, Tetsuko invited everyone here.

"So everyone agree?" a young man with blonde hair suddenly spoke. He sat at the head of the table and everyone had been listening to him. Everyone but Oboro.

"What did he say just now?" he asked Tetsuko.

"About a group date in the Amusement Park."

Oboro raised his eyebrows. "Group date? For what?"

"To strengthen solidarity" Tetsuko answered. She then held up her hand. "Can you explain again, Kyoushirou-kun?"

Honjou Kyoushirou, the one who technically led the group explained again. "Well, we decided to have a group date in the Amusement Park next to the university. We're planning to hold a charity event there two months from now, so our visit is also a kind of location survey. But also, to strengthen our solidarity, I suggested for us to have a group date. We're going there this Sunday and meet up at 10 in the morning. Do you agree?"

Sounds of agreements were heard around the room. Oboro frowned. Group date? He never really went on a date before.

Suddenly, someone held up his hand. "Can we bring someone outside this group for our date?" he asked.

Kyoushirou nodded. "Of course. You can ask any member of this group or outside this group to be your date. But make sure you have someone to go there with you." Hearing that, the white-haired guy sighed internally.

"Well, that is all for today's gathering. See you guys on Sunday." With that, the members starting to got up one by one. Most of the girls got up and went to Kyoushirou and asked him to be their date. But he disappointed them when he said that he already had a date.

Oboro sat on his seat, thinking to himself. Who would be his date? Not that it was hard for him to find a girl who was willing. But he didn't want to take a girl who annoyed him as they would spent the rest of the day together. He was not very comfortable around women to begin with. The one girl he was most comfortable with was...

Tetsuko got up. She glanced at Oboro and seemed to hesitate about something. She was fiddling with her fingers, which was uncharacteristic of her. "Um... Well... I guess I'll see you there." She picked up her bag and turned around, ready to go, when a hand caught her wrist.

"Wait, Tetsuko" Oboro called her.

She turned to look at him in confusion. Oboro seemed to hesitate as well. "Listen... you know I'm not very comfortable with this group date. I don't feel comfortable around women in general."

"Yes, I know."

"So I was wondering if we can go together... As friends..."

Tetsuko went silent for a moment as Oboro let go of her hand. He looked nervous, which was the first for her to see. After a few long seconds, she nodded. "Sure."

"I see... Wait what?" Oboro blinked at her and Tetsuko shrugged.

"I'm not too excited about this group date myself. I don't really like going out with some random guy." She then grinned. "I rather get stuck with you. We can go together... As friends, of course."

He nodded. "Right. As friends." They both stared at each other in silence.

"Well, I have to go. I have a class in the afternoon."

"Yes. Me too." They both got up and went their own ways after saying good bye awkwardly.

In he way to her building, Tetsuko spotted Ikumatsu, walking slowly as if she was lost in thought. "Ikumatsu!" she called out.

The blonde girl turned to look at her and smiled. She stopped walking for Tetsuko to catch up to her. They started to walk together. "Are you excited for the group date this Sunday?" Tetsuko asked her.

"Yeah, I guess" Ikumatsu replied. "Are you going with Oboro-kun, Tetsuko?"

"Yes."

Ikumatsu grinned widely. "Does that mean you're finally official?"

Tetsuko felt her face heated up. "What? No! We're just going as friends! He's not comfortable with other girls so he asked me to go with him. And I'm also not too keen on this dating thing so I agree to go with him rather than asking some random guy."

Ikumatsu huffed. "I'm sure there's something more behind it."

"How could you say that?"

"Because you two have been friends for as long as I can remember, and since I'm with you two since childhood, I know that you were never as close to your other friends as you were to each other. Everyone who doesn't know you will automatically think you two are dating."

Tetsuko blushed. "But we're not. We don't think of each other like that. At least I don't think he does." The blue-haired girl sighed and Ikumatsu shook her head at her friend's obliviousness. "By the way, Ikumatsu, who are you going to ask? Are you going with one of the members?"

"No, I think I'll ask someone outside the group."

This time, it was Tetsuko who grinned widely. "Ooooh, I think I know who it is. Another Yoshida is involved."

Ikumatsu flushed and looked away. "Shut up. At least I'm honest when I like someone. Unlike someone who doesn't want to admit that she has been dating with her best friend for a very long time."

"Oboro and I are not dating!"

"I didn't say it was you and Oboro-kun."

"But I... Oh forget it..."

* * *

That night, in Hoshina house, Tsukuyo passed by her sister's room in her way to the kitchen. She stopped in her way; the door was opened and she looked inside. Hinowa was sitting at her vanity table, applying make up to her face while looking at the mirror. She was wearing her best clothes, which she made herself. Tsukuyo smiled.

"You look beautiful" the younger sister remarked. Hinowa jumped in her seat and turned to look at Tsukuyo.

"Oh, Tsukuyo. You surprised me." In the next second, she smiled brightly, a small blush painting her cheeks. "Thank you for the compliment."

"I've never seen you wear make up since... well... since that time" Tsukuyo said, not wanting to elaborate.

Hinowa smiled softly. "Yes. It's been a long time since I wear any make up. My make up kit was covered in dust when I found it." She chuckled and Tsukuyo smiled.

"But you look different tonight. You look more... beautiful..." And she was right. Hinowa seemed to look incredibly beautiful tonight. More beautiful than she had ever seen. Her eyes were sparkling with excitement. Her cheeks were pink with natural blush. Her smile looked even more dazzling than usual. She remembered back when Hinowa still worked in Yoshiwara. She was still stunningly beautiful. A beauty which captivated all Yoshiwara's patrons. But her face was emotionless. She was cold and apethetic. Her face still portrayed the strength and pureness of her soul, but there was no joy on it. This time, it was different. Tsukuyo could see happiness, youthful excitement mixed with nervousness, and a spirit and vitality which she had never seen in her sister when she was forced to wear make up and go through another night with her customers.

Hinowa was practically glowing right now. She looked like a young teenage girl about to go on her very first date.

Then again, she really was about to have her very first date.

"Shouyou-san would love to see you like this" Tsukuyo commented with a grin, which caused Hinowa to blush. After everything the older girl went through, having to sell her body as a prostitute, Tsukuyo had never thought that her sister would even consider to date a man. And yet, here she was, preparing herself to go on her very first date.

And of all man, Tsukuyo had never thought Hinowa would end up with Yoshida Shouyou. The owner and dean of her school. And her boyfriend, Gintoki's father. Yes, the sisters actually dated the father and son, with the younger sister going out with the son and the older sister going out with the father. Tsukuyo still felt weird whenever she thought about it. Their condition was very strange indeed. But everyone was happy so who cares. Besides, none of them were related to each other anyway so she could say it was safe for them to be together.

Even though she was genuinely happy for her sister, Tsukuyo couldn't help but worried. Despite her past as a prostitute, Hinowa was actually very new when it came to romance. Shouyou was really the first and only man she was romantically attached to. If things didn't turn out well and her heart was broken...

"Tsukuyo?" Hinowa called her, snapping her out of her thoughts. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Just... have fun on your date."

Hinowa smiled at her sister, blushing again. "I will. I hope it goes well. This is the first time for me and I'm really nervous."

"You've faced men before. You even slept with them."

"Yes, but this is different." Hinowa looked down, embarassed. "I... really want him to enjoy this night." And this, Tsukuyo noticed. Another thing that made this different from any other was the fact that it was Shouyou. Unlike any other men, Hinowa actually cared for this man. She wanted to impress him, wanted him to like her. She actually cared about his opinions of her.

"You'll be fine. Just be yourself. He has seen the worst of you and yet he still loves you. You have nothing to worry about."

Hinowa smiled thinly. "I guess. It's just that I'm really anxious."

"I can see that you are nervous. But you're also exicted."

Hinowa smiled at her younger sister. "You were like that too back then, Tsukuyo."

Tsukuyo blinked. "Really?"

Hinowa nodded. "Yes. I remember when you went on that prom night with Gintoki-kun? I helped you with your dress and make up. You looked so beautiful back then. But you're also glowing with excitement and that's what makes your beauty even more prominent. Your face was shining with happiness."

Tsukuyo hadn't really remember. She did remember how happy and excited she was back then when Gintoki asked her to go to school's prom with him. She didn't show it on the outside, but she practically jumped in joy on the inside. And it was also the night when they had their first kiss. She smiled at the memory, a blush painting her cheeks.

"When will Shouyou-san pick you up?"

"Around 8. Which is now actually."

"Where are you two going again?"

"The Ikedaya Hotel."

"That's the best and most luxurious hotel in town! He really goes all out for this. Guess he's just as excited for this as you are." Hinowa blushed and looked down. The sisters heard the sound of car from the outside. "That must be your date."

They heard Seita running toward the door and opened it. They heard muffled conversation before Seita hollered "Mom! Shouyou-san's here!" Hinowa looked down nervously and fiddled with her fingers.

"That's him. Are you ready Nee-san?"

"I-I think so..."

Tsukuyo and Hinowa walked (or in Hinowa's case, wheeled) to the front door and there, stood a handsome man with silky long hair, wearing black. He smiled at the sisters when they arrived at the door. His eyes widened when he saw Hinowa and the women looked down, blushing deep red.

He smiled at her. "You look beautiful tonight."

"Isn't she?" Tsukuyo said, giggling.

"Mom is always pretty!" Seita remarked.

"Of course. Your mother always looks beautiful . But she looks exceptionally beautiful tonight" he said, light blush on his cheeks. This made Hinowa become redder, if that was possible.

Shouyou smiled. "Are you ready to go?"

"Oh, yes."

"Wait" Seita suddenly said. The boy went to Shouyou and grasped the man's hands in both of his small ones. "Shouyou-san, please take of Mom!" the boy said seriously.

Shouyou blinked at him. "Don't worry. He said the same thing to Gintoki too the first time we dated" Tsukuyo said.

Shouyou chuckled and shook the boy's hand. "I will, Seita-kun" he replied just as seriously.

After that, Tsukuyo and Seita watched as Hinowa got into Shouyou's car. When the car drove away, the two went back inside and closed the door.

Seita went back to his room to work on his homework and Tsukuyo looked out the window. She couldn't help but feel so happy for her sister. And who knew? Maybe he would pop up the question tonight. "I hope she enjoys her first date."

 **Wow, this update turns out faster than I imagined. But well, that's good.**


	3. Dinner with the higher ups

For some women, their first date started when they were in middle school or in high school. They had a crush on their classmate, or even an upperclassman. Sometimes they asked the guys on a date; sometimes, the guys were the ones asking them. Nevertheless, teenage life was the most romantic days of a girl's life. But Hinowa never experienced any of it. She never had a normal teenage life to begin with. During her childhood, she was busy helping Suzuran-san and Maizou-san take care of the kids in the foster home. As an adolescent, after being adopted with Tsukuyo and far away from Maizou and Suzuran's comfort, she was forced to protect and take care of her younger sister. While her classmates had gone out on a date with the guy of their dream, and enjoyed their time, she had gone to bed with numerous sleazy men and let them do as they please to her. Never had she thought that she would find something worth in that place, full of alcohol, drugs, and aphrodisiac.

And yet she did.

She found love.

And in the night she found love, she also found freedom.

Hinowa had never thought of finding someone else to love. The man she met that night ten years ago was her first and last love. She also never thought of experiencing what her old classmates had. And yet, here she was, on a date with the man of her dream.

He had called her yesterday night. He would stay in Japan for a while and he wanted to spend some time with her before he went away again. She quickly agreed without thinking. As it was, this was her very first date and she was nervous.

 _God! I'm 27 years old! I'm too old for this!_

Hinowa was actually a little anxious. They were going to Ikedaya Hotel. The biggest, most expensive and most luxurious hotel in the city. There would be many high class people there to see them and with her condition, she was afraid she would embarrass Shouyou.

But Shouyou had none of it. He wheeled her into the hotel, ignoring some people who stared at them. A steward came to usher them to their reserved place. As they went into the elevator, Shouyou noticed her looking down on her lap. He gently put his hands on her shoulder and gave them reassuring squeeze. "Don't mind anyone who stares at you." He then looked at her and smiled the brightest smile. "You are beautiful."

Hinowa smiled back at him. Usually, she did not really care about people staring at her. She was used to it. The fact that she was together with Shouyou in such an outrageous place was what made her nervous. "So... where are we going?" she asked, trying to change the subject.

"We're going to the place I reserved for us of course."

"But the restaurant is in the third floor." She watched as the elevator kept going up and up. Ikedaya Hotel was also the highest place in the city. It had fifteen floors!

Shouyou smiled mysteriously. "You'll see."

After a few minutes, they finally stopped at the twelfth floor. They went out of the elevator and Hinowa gasped. The twelfth floor consisted of small garden with music, water fountain, a fish pond, and a small cobbled path leading to a white gazebo. The steward led them to an area under a large pergola. There was a table for two, food already served there.

Hinowa looked around in amazement. From where they sat, the sky looked very clear because it was so high up. She looked down and the ground seemed so far away. He really went all out for this. She turned to face him and caught him smiling at her adoringly. It took her breath away and she looked down, face flaming. She was naturally calm and composed. But she couldn't seem to compose herself around this man because he always made her heart beating like crazy.

"This floor is reserved for VIP only" Shouyou said. "It is usually the place where the higher ups are eating. Do you... like it?"

"I love it!" she said.

"Oh... good." He looked genuinely relieved and she giggled.

"This is actually very outrageous. You really go all out for this date. Do you want to impress me that much?"

"Well, this is the first time for me and to be honest, I felt a little nervous so..." He put a hand on his mouth and looked away from her, a small blush painting his cheeks.

 _Eh?_ She widened her eyes in surprise. She couldn't believe it. "This _can't_ be your first date."

"Well, this is the first official one. I sometimes go and have dinner or lunch with my colleagues but that's it. This is... different. Believe it or not, I even asked Gintoki for advice. It's a little embarrassing." Shouyou sighed and scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. He looked like he was out of his element.

Hinowa blushed but smiled happily. So she was not the only one feeling this way. Hesitantly, she reached for his hand. "This is my first time too. Let's just... enjoy it."

He smiled. "Yes."

"So... how many women have you brought here?"

"I never brought anyone other than my family here. You're the first."

* * *

Through the evening, the couple find themselves enjoying their date. They talked about many things. About what they had been doing, about their family, and about things in general. But even as they talk, Hinowa could see that there were things that Shouyou was hiding. He did not specify the job he did prior to starting the school and he never talked about his past except for the time he was in the countryside. She knew he was not ready for that and she was fine waiting. A part of her had a vague idea of what he's doing and she did not want to mention it. As they continue their talk, they heard a sound coming from an elevator.

"Someone's here?" she asked, looking at the elevator.

"It seems that another VIP is booking this place" Shouyou said.

The elevator door was opened and a black-haired man in his twenties, an old man with grey hair and cigarette in his mouth, and a young girl with long black hair came out. Hinowa recognized the three of them. She had seen them all in Nobume's birthday party. The three people seemed to recognize them too. Well, recognize Shouyou at least.

"Oh, Shouyou! You're here too, huh" the old man called out, waving his hand.

Shouyou smiled at them and nodded. "Nice to see you here Matsudaira-san, Tokugawa-sama. And Soyo-chan of course."

The black-haired girl, who was holding the black-haired man's arm gave him a wide, friendly smile. "Nice to see you too, Shouyou-san!"

"Ah, it is the lady I see in Nobume-chan's birthday" the Prime Minister, Shigeshige smiled. "It is nice to meet you. I am Tokugawa Shigeshige. I am sure you already know it."

Hinowa bowed. "Yes I do, Tokugawa-sama. It is nice to meet you. And you too, Matsudaira-san." She then glanced at Soyo. "And the pretty young lady too."

Soyo gave her a smile. "Thank you. You're very pretty too."

"Thank you" the woman replied, smiling friendly.

"Are you here to have dinner as well?" Shouyou asked the group.

Matsudaira blow away some cigarette smoke. "Yeah. Shigeshige and I had a meeting just now and Soyo-chan is with us. We're thinking of having dinner before going home."

"So you came all the way from the meeting place here?" Hinowa asked.

"No. The meeting is here in this building" Soyo said. "In the fifteenth floor."

"Oh..." Hinowa murmured.

"This hotel is also used for governmental meetings. The meetings are usually held in the top floor" Shigeshige explained. Hinowa nodded. The Prime Minister smiled at the couple. "Are we interrupting your date?"

Hinowa and Shouyou blushed.

"Oh no... you're not..."

"Yes... In fact... maybe we can sit together."

"Yes... that will be nice."

The three people seemed surprised at the suggestion.

"Hey, are you sure? You're on a date after all, right? Go have some private time together. Don't mind us" Matsudaira said to the couple.

"No, that's fine Matsudaira-san. We already have enough private time for more than two hours."

"After all, the more the merrier, right?"

After that, the five people ended up sharing a table and chatting with each other. This turned out to be not really a date anymore, but neither Shouyou nor Hinowa minded the extra company. That was how nice they were.

"So Hinowa-san, you were from the Rotten foster home?" Shigeshige asked her.

"Yes" Hinowa nodded. "Are you familiar with it?"

"Familiar? Shigeshige is the one funding the foster home" Matsudaira said.

Hinowa gasped. "Really? I... I did not know." She bowed to the man. "Thank you very much."

Shigeshige smiled and waved a hand as if to dismiss it. "Please stop that. It's really not that big of a deal. The owner, Rotten Maizou, was once my attendant."

"Oh, really?" Hinowa asked again. "Maizou-san did tell me that he once worked for Tokugawa family, but I did not know the detail."

"Yes. Jiiya was always with us when we were young!" Soyo exclaimed.

"Jiiya already owned a foster home back then, which he managed with his wife, Suzuran-san. He worked for my family as an attendant as well as managing the foster home." Shigeshige looked down and smiled sadly. "But he had to retire because of an accident."

"Jiiya's hands were cut when he was protecting Onii-sama from an assassin" Soyo said sadly.

Hinowa looked down sadly. "So that's what happened. He did not have his hands anymore and he never told me why."

Shigeshige nodded, still smiling sadly. "After that, our family asked him to retire. He focused himself entirely to manage the foster home after that, and our family fund it to help him" he explained.

"Thank you very much for your help. As one of the children from there, I feel indebted to you."

"Oh no, please don't. After all, if it wasn't for Jiiya, I've already been dead by now. I was the one indebted to him."

"Now that we're talking about him, I want to see Jiiya again, Onii-sama" Soyo said.

Shigeshige rubbed his sister's head affectionately. "Maybe we'll go visit him one of these days."

"I really want to go too. It's been a long time since I met him and Suzuran-san" Hinowa said. It had been a long time indeed. When Jiraia was dead, she and Tsukuyo had hoped to go back to the foster home. But the place was so far away from where they were, and they couldn't afford to buy tickets for bullet train, as they had barely even enough money to survive the day. And when they were free from Housen, they were busy adjusting to their new life. Somehow, they forgot about it along the way. _Maybe I'll suggest it to Tsukuyo next time. It'll be nice to visit the foster home again. I wonder how Maizou-san and Suzuran-san are._

Meanwhile, Matsudaira leaned toward Shouyou, who was sitting in front of him. "You got a nice and pretty lady there, Shouyou. Have you asked her to open her legs for you yet?"

"Please do not use such metaphor, Matsudaira-san." And no, Shouyou would never tell him that she had, in fact, opened her legs for him the night they first met.

"You have to stake your claim. A great woman like that doesn't stick around. You have to propose quickly."

"You know I can't do that. At least not right now."

Soyo was fidgeting in her seat. "What's wrong Soyo?" her brother asked.

"Um... I want to go to the restroom... but I don't want to go alone... The place is far from here."

"Want me to go with you?" Hinowa offered.

Soyo turned to the woman and smiled. "Really, Hinowa-san? Thank you!"

The two females left the table and headed to the restroom. After the two went away, the three remaining people at the table looked at each other. A message passed among them, knowing that it's safe for them to talk about confidential things now that Hinowa and Soyo were gone.

"So? How's the meeting?" Shouyou asked the other two.

"Well, how should I put this... Everyone was restless" Shigeshige answered.

Shouyou nodded. "Not surprising really. They have been missing for ten years. And lately, with the rumor of them joining forces with Harusame, of course everyone is restless."

"They're worried. Afraid" Matsudaira said. "They want the chip to be secured."

Shouyou's body went stiff, and the other two noticed how he gripped the cup in his hand.

"Don't worry. They just want to protect it. They want to protect _him_ " Shigeshige said reassuringly.

"I know" Shouyou said, putting the cup down. "I know... I'm just..."

"Worried?" Matsudaira finished his sentence.

Shouyou was silent for a few long minutes. "I'm afraid that what happened to me back then will happen to him too."

"Nonsense!" the old man said, taking a drag from his cigarette. "The kid endures it for ten years. Ten years! Longer than you could. That's a feat. Sure, he becomes somewhat agitated and is quick to anger because of that."

Shouyou smiled slightly from the comment.

"Katakuriko was right. He is strong. Have faith in him" Shigeshige said, smiling as well.

Shouyou looked up at the top of Ikedaya Hotel, reminiscing. His mind wandered to the past.

* * *

 _He went inside the establishment. The room was spacious and painted bright white. It was spotless. It would give a calming effect if not for the metal bars in front of him. The small figure sitting on the other side of the bars wore simple white clothes, and with the fair hair and pale skin, almost blended in with the background and was hard to see._

 _"That's him" the person standing behind him, wearing the lab coat and medical mask said. He opened the small door there and entered the cage. "Be careful! He's very dangerous!" the other person said._

 _But h_ _e did not t_ _a_ _k_ _e_ _heed of him. He kept walking slowly toward the small figure, who was sitting with his back facing him. Hearing the footsteps coming to him, the small figure turned his head around and he found himself staring eye to eye with blood red eyes._

 _Glaring red met gentle gray._

 _One was scowling while the other was smiling._

 _"I heard we have a demon here." Without fear, his hand reached out and rested on the smaller figure's head, whom he definitely sure was only a child now._

 _"What a cute little demon."_

 **And there. That was chapter three. Sorry it took so long for me to update. Very busy lately.**


	4. Matching items are only for couples

Nobume was waiting impatiently for the school to end. She heard today school would be over earlier due to staff meeting and she couldn't wait to get out of the class. When the bell finally rang, the students cheered and were out of the class as soon as the teachers went out.

Nobume quickly jumped from her seat excitedly. There was a new kind of donut in Mr. Donuts and she could hardly wait to taste it. But she really didn't want to go alone. "Hey Sougo, Kamui, want to hang out after this?"

The two boys looked at her then at each other. "Sorry Nobume. We kind of have _something_ to do with Gin-san after this" Sougo said. Nobume knew that by "something", he meant another mischief.

"You can join us if you want to" Kamui said.

"Nah. I think I'll go by myself."

Nobume parted with Sougo and Kamui and started walking toward the school gate. On her way, she passed 3C class where Tsukuyo, Shinsuke and Kotarou were. She caught a glimpse of Tsukuyo and Shinsuke together and frozen in her spot. She couldn't help but to peek inside when she spotted them together. Tsukuyo was standing beside Shinsuke's desk. She was smiling teasingly at him and he looked away with reddened cheeks. Nobume squinted her eyes in suspicion. _What are they talking about?_

"What are you doing here Nobume? Do you need something?"

The blue haired girl nearly jumped out of her skin. She turned around and saw her other brother, Kotarou looking at her quizzically. "Kota-nii! You've surprised me!"

Kotarou raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing in front of our classroom?"

"Uh... well I..."

"Hey, isn't that Nobume-chan?"

"Huh? She's here?"

Nobume heard Tsukuyo and Shinsuke talked behind her. She then turned around to face them. When she looked at them, she decided she didn't like seeing them next to each other. She didn't know why... Or maybe she did. She just didn't want to admit it.

"Hi, Nobume-chan. What are you doing here? Not that we don't welcome you here" Tsukuyo greeted her with a smile.

"Hi, Tsukuyo-san" Nobume said, her face blank. "I... I just... You see, Mr. Donuts is having a new kind of donut right now and I really want to try it but I don't want to go alone. Sougo and Kamui couldn't go so I was wondering... if... one of you... would like to accompany me?" She didn't know why she said it so hurriedly. She just tried to come up with a quick excuse.

"Well, I'd like to accompany you, but I have to take Elizabeth to the groomer today" Kotarou said. Tsukuyo blinked at him and wondered if there was a groomer for penguin.

"I promised Bansai to go with him to the music store today" Shinsuke said. "And if I remember, we have band practice this afternoon."

Kotarou blinked and then clapped his hands. "Oh yes! That's right! I almost forgot about that."

Nobume nodded at Shinsuke. She didn't know whether she should feel happy or sad that he couldn't come with her.

"What about you Tsukuyo-san? Do you want to accompany our little sister?" Kotarou said, turning to Tsukuyo.

"Well, Seita is going home with his friends today so I don't need to pick him up and Gintoki is busy doing something else." She smiled. "I think I can go."

"Oh... well... thank you" Nobume said. She smiled a little at the older girl. She usually loved the blonde's company. But after seeing her together with Shinsuke just now, she had mixed feelings right now. Her frigid attitude did not go unnoticed by Shinsuke.

"Is something wrong?" he asked his sister.

"Nothing. None of your business" she said a little harshly. He frowned at her.

Nobume turned around, not looking at his dejected look. "Let's go Tsukuyo-san."

* * *

Tsukuyo and Nobume went to the town square they had gone to when they shopped for the swimsuit. Nobume walked straight toward Mr. Donut, Tsukuyo following behind her.

"You really don't have to come with me you know. Even if you don't agree, I'll be fine on my own."

"That's alright. It's nice to go out and having fun sometimes. Gintoki keeps saying that I need to loosen up. And I really like your company Nobume-chan."

Nobume smiled at her. Tsukuyo really was a nice person. She felt a little bad for her bad feelings earlier. After all, it's not the blonde's fault that Shinsuke liked her. At this thought, Nobume looked down and her hands balled into fists.

Tsukuyo noticed it and put a hand on the younger girl's shoulder. "Is something wrong Nobume-chan?"

"Eh? What? N-nothing."

Nobume looked ahead, keeping her expression carefully blank. Tsukuyo, knowing that she wouldn't tell her, decide to change the topic. "So what kind of new donut is it?"

Just as she had expected, a smile appeared on Nobume's face and her cheeks flushed pink. "Oh, you're gonna be interested in this. There is this green donut. The color is really green. They said it was made from vegetable essences. Vegetables! Vegetable donut! They said it's made especially for vegetarian and it can help girls for diet. I really can't imagine what it'll taste like, but I'm willing to try." Tsukuyo smiled at her enthusiasm. The girl can actually be cheerful when it came to donuts.

"Here, I'll show you the pictures" Nobume said, pulling out her phones from her bag. When she pulled out her phones, Tsukuyo noticed the strap and smiled.

"Isn't that Mr. Donuts?" the blonde said, pointing at the strap.

Nobume blinked and looked at the chocolate donut doll. "Oh yes. Isn't he cute?"

"He's paired with Mrs. Donut right?"

"Yes."

"The one Shinsuke owned."

Nobume looked up at her in surprised. "You know."

"I saw it just now. He seemed to be embarrassed about it though" Tsukuyo said, smiling as she remembered their conversation.

 _Tsukuyo walked by Shinsuke's desk when she noticed a vanilla donut doll hanging on his phone as he fiddled with it. She blinked. The doll had legs and hands and thick, red lips like that of Betty Boops. Somehow, she didn't think it would suit his taste. And yet, he used it as his phone strap._

 _"_ _That's a cute strap you have there" she commented._

 _Shinsuke turned to her, then looked at the strap. She then glared at her while she grinned. "Don't you mention it again."_

 _"_ _What? The mighty Yoshida Shinsuke having donut doll as a phone strap?"_

 _"_ _Shut up. I only use it because Nobume gave it to me." Then, he widened his eyes as if realizing his mistake._

 _Tsukuyo's smile went wider. "Oh, so it's because of Nobume, huh?"_

 _Shinsuke blushed and looked away. "Shut up."_

"He didn't seem to appreciate my comment, but he did say that he wore it because you gave it to him."

Nobume looked at Tsukuyo with wide eyes. _So that's what they were talking about._

Tsukuyo smiled. "You two have matching phone straps. It's so cute."

Nobume suddenly felt her heart beat a little faster and pink colored her cheeks. "Well, I only gave him the Mrs. Donuts strap because I only wanted to keep Mr. Donuts... Still... I never thought he would actually wear it..." A warm smile grazed the blue-haired girl's cheeks.

Tsukuyo smiled at this. _You have a chance after all, Shinsuke._ "Usually, aren't couples the ones with matching items?"

"Eh?"

"You know, same type of mugs, same shirts. Things like that. Having similar items with the other makes you feel closer, you know." Tsukuyo sighed dreamily. "It's very romantic."

"Eh? What? But... but we're not a couple... We're siblings! That is... it's just... some kind of... well solidarity!"

Tsukuyo sweatdropped hearing about solidarity but then giggled.

"And after all, we don't have matching items! I have Mr. Donuts strap and he has Mrs. Donuts strap. They're different kinds of item!"

"But still, Mr. and Mrs. Donuts are husband and wife, right? They're always together right?"

"Yes. But I separate them because I only want to keep Mr. Donut strap and gave the other one to Shin-nii."

"Maybe it's good that you separate them."

"Huh?"

Tsukuyo smiled. "My friend Ayame likes everything about myth, magic, and things like that, especially when it comes to romance. She told me that there is a myth surrounding Mr. And Mrs. Donuts straps. Or dolls, depending on where you heard it. She read from some magazine, well I don't know if you've read about it or not. She said if a person separate the dolls and gives the other doll to the one they love, the dolls' spirits will try to find each other and it will compel their owners to find each other's heart as well."

Nobume stared at her with disbelieving look. She knew that Mr. and Mrs. Donuts strap was popular at the time, especially among teenage girls and even her friends who didn't really like eating donuts from Mr. Donuts were buying the straps. She finally found the reason why. So there was such rumor going around. She never noticed.

Nobume looked at her strap. Shinsuke appeared in her mind.

 _The dolls will help the owners find each other's heart..._

"Ah! But you know... Shin-nii and I are not part of any of this... since well... we're siblings you know... We're not a couple or something like that."

Tsukuyo observed the younger girl. The blonde knew that what she had just said actually affect the Yoshida female. But she seemed to still be in denial. "Nobume-chan..."

"Ah! Look!" Nobume pointed in front of them. Tsukuyo turned to the direction she pointed to. There, stood two young women standing side by side in front of a clothing store. One had long blonde hair, tied into low side ponytail while the other had short, light blue hair, wearing red bandana. They seemed to notice the girls as well and turned to look at them.

"Ikumatsu-san, Tetsuko-san."


	5. Shopping for feminine clothes

"Ikumatsu-san, Tetsuko-san."

The two college girls turned around to see Tsukuyo and Nobume. The two high-schoolers walked toward them as the older girls smiled.

"Oh, hi Nobume-chan, and... Tsukuyo-chan is it?" Tetsuko greeted.

"Yes" Tsukuyo nodded at them. "What are you two doing here?"

"Oh, we're here to shop some clothes for Tetsuko" Ikumatsu said. Tetsuko blushed a little and looked down.

"I've never seen you shop for clothes, Tetsuko-san" Nobume said.

Tetsuko rubbed her neck sheepishly. "Well... shopping is just not my thing. Unless it's to shop for tools with my father and brother."

Tsukuyo nodded. "I understand. I don't really like shopping too."

Ikumatsu blinked at the two of them, then sighed. "Really, you two..."

"Why don't you go to Ikumatusu-san's family shop then? They have more variations there" Nobume asked.

"That's what I suggested too. But she-"

"Well I always shop for clothes in one place, and I'm more comfortable buying it here."

"So I said I'd follow her to the shop and helped her pick up some clothes. But..." Ikumatsu stepped away from the front of the shop and Tsukuyo and Nobume instantly understood. It was a sport shop and most of the clothes sold there were t-shirt, sweatshirt, shorts, jeans, cape, beanie, and sneakers. "I knew we should've gone to my family shop."

Tetsuko frowned. "What's wrong with this shop? I always buy my clothes here."

"It doesn't have what you need."

"Yes it does."

"Tetsuko, you can't wear hoodie, sport pants and sneakers to a date. They're good to wear when you're doing exercise but not on a DATE."

"I told you, it's not a date. We're just going as friends" Tetsuko said, a little embarrassed.

Tsukuyo and Nobume blinked. "You're going on a date, Tetsuko-san? With who?" Nobume asked curiously.

"Oh, with-" Tetsuko clamped her hand over Ikumatsu's mouth before she finished.

"No one. No one, really." Tetsuko laughed awkwardly and Tsukuyo and Nobume looked at her, bewildered. "You see, our fraternity group decided to have a group date in the nearby Amusement Park this Sunday."

"Oh... a group date. So you and Ikumatsu-san are preparing for that" Tsukuyo said in understanding.

"Well, I already prepared the clothes I'm going to wear. She's the one I'm worried about" Ikumatsu replied.

"I told you I'm not trying to impress anyone" Tetsuko said.

"Then why did you call me and asked my opinion about what you should wear?"

"Well it's the first time for me, and I don't know what you usually wear for a group date."

"You sure it's not because of the person you're going with?"

"No-"

"Who are you going with?" Nobume asked again.

"NO ONE!" Tetsuko said, her face flaming. Tsukuyo and Nobume jumped a little. Tetsuko, suddenly realizing her outburst laughed awkwardly. "Ah, sorry... It's just..."

Ikumatsu sighed. "Alright then. Let's go find some other store."

"So we're not going to shop in this shop?"

"No, I'm finding you more suitable clothes." Ikumatsu turned to Nobume and Tsukuyo. "Nobume-chan and... Tsukuyo-chan? Can I call you that?"

Tsukuyo smiled and blushed a little. "I'm not used to be called with –chan, but it's fine."

Ikumatsu smiled. "Nobume-chan, Tsukuyo-chan, are you here to shop too? If you are, you can come with us."

"Actually we're here to go to Mr. Donuts and try a new brand of donut there." Then Nobume smiled excitedly. "But it seems to be fun. We'll go with you. Is it alright, Tsukuyo-san?"

"Um... sure."

The group which now consisted of four people walked around the town square, looking for a suitable clothing store. They went inside one huge store and looked around. Tsukuyo had to admit this store had the more fashionable clothes in the town square, rivaling the clothes in Nishikiya. Of course the price was also incredible. As Ikumatsu and Nobume looked around with excitement, Tsukuyo stood beside the rack, feeling out of place. She still wasn't used to shopping. Most of her clothes were made by her sister. She looked to the side and saw Tetsuko, looking just as uncomfortable as her. The blue-haired young woman was looking at the dresses and feminine accessories around her warily.

"You don't like here, Tetsuko-san?"

Tetsuko gave Tsukuyo a small smile. "I'm just not used to buy something girly or feminine. I'm used to go shopping in the store my father and brother always go to. I'm just... not very comfortable in feminine clothes. It's just not my style. Guess this is what happens when you don't have any female influence in the family."

Tsukuyo widened her eyes and Tetsuko smiled. "My mother died when I was very young and all of Murata's closest relatives are males. So you can say I don't have any female example in the family. I always wear boy's clothes. I played boy's games. When other girls were playing house or dress up in the house, I was playing soccer and baseball at the field. Most of my friends are boys and I am considered one of them. My hair has never been long, always short. None of my friends treated me as a girl, except-"

Tetsuko paused and looked down. Tsukuyo tilted her head in confusion.

"Except Oboro."

Tsukuyo blinked. She watched Tetsuko as the older girl was lost in thought. The blonde smiled. "You and Oboro-san are close, aren't you?"

"What? Oh... well... we've known each other since childhood so..." Tetsuko looked away, a faint blush painting her cheeks.

"What was Oboro-san like when he was young?"

Tetsuko chuckled. "Geeky? I guess."

"Oh..."

"Well, not really. He's just diligent and studious. He's doing everything _really_ carefully. Very punctual and _extremely_ meticulous. And he took everything seriously, to the point that it sometimes came off as intimidating." Tetsuko huffed but there was a fond smile on her face. "Oh, well... he's still like that even now. He doesn't change at all."

 ** _Flashback_**

 _A young boy with white curly hair was sitting on a bench beside the field next to his family dojo. While other kids, including his siblings were busy playing at the field, he was preoccupied with a large book on his lap._

 _"Hi!"_

 _Hearing a voice, he looked up from his book and saw a blue-haired kid around his age with a soccer ball under his arm. "Good afternoon" he replied to the other._

 _"You're one of the Yoshida family kids, right?" the kid asked._

 _"Ye_ _s_ _."_

 _The kid glanced at the book. "What are you reading?"_

 _"Atlas."_

 _The kid sweatdropped._ _He already read atlas to pass up time at this age? Most kids would read manga instead._ _"You want to play?"_

 _"No thanks. I'm busy" he said without looking up from his book._

 _"But I see that all you do is sitting and reading a book."_

 _"I'm watching over my sibling" he said, pointing at four younger kids playing at the field. Three boys, one with curly silver hair, one with long black hair, and one with short purple hair were running around, playing tags with the other boys. A younger girl with short blue hair was sitting with the girls, chatting while munching a donut._

 _"I'm sure they'll be fine. This field is safe. And it's close to your house."_

 _The white-haired boy looked at him like "Duh". "I'm not worried about their safety. I'm worried about what they might do. They can cause trouble if you leave them alone unsupervised for one minute."_

 _"They don't look that bad to me."_

 _"Oh, you don't know" he muttered under his breath._

 _"Come on. It'll be fun. I often see your siblings playing around but not you."_

 _"Someone has to be the responsible one."_

 _The kid pouted. He opened his mouth but before he could talk, a long-haired man wearing Hakama walked out from the dojo's entrance. "Isn't it a good idea, Oboro? Come play with your friend. Enjoy your time."_

 _"He's not my friend, Dad. I just met him" Oboro said, turning to the man._

 _The kid blinked. "By 'he' you mean me?"_

 _"Well, yes. Who else?"_

 _"Well, sorry but I am not 'he' but 'she'."_

 _Oboro blinked and observed the other kid more closely. "Wait, you're a_ girl _?"_

 _The girl smiled and nodded. She was used to be mistaken for a boy because of her short hair. "Yup."_

 _The man blinked. "Ah, I remember. You're Murata-san's daughter, right_ _?_ _Um..."_

 _"Yes. I'm Tetsuko. Nice to meet you, Yoshida-san. My father told me about you and your family." The girl bowed._

 _The man chuckled. "Just call me Shouyou."_

 _"My father also told me that because you're new around here, we should help you get used to this place. He said that one of your children was the same age as me and I should be friends with him."_

 _Shouyou smiled and put his hand on top of Oboro. "Yes, this is my eldest child Oboro. Please take care of him."_

 _"Please don't say that Dad."_

 _"So? You want to play?" Tetsuko asked_ _him_ _._

 _Oboro glanced at his father who gave him an encouraging smile. "Don't worry. Gintoki and the others won't go out of hand today. I promise I'll give him my super punch of love_ _if he does_ _, remember?"_

 _Oboro shuddered. He knew that what his father referred to as his "super punch of love" was the punch to the top of the head that was strong enough to bury them in_ _to_ _the ground instantly. The boy put away his book and got up. "Alright then."_

 _Tetsuko smiled brightly. She turned around and shouted to the group of boys standing at the side of the field. "He said yes guys! Now we have even members to play soccer!" The boys cheered and Oboro's eye twitched._

 ** _End of flashback_**

Tetsuko giggled as she remembered the first time they met.

"And Oboro-san is the only one treating you as a girl?" Tsukuyo asked curiously.

"Well, more like he's reminding me about that all the time. You see, I was always one of the boys. I acted like them and they treated me no differently. But when things get out of hand, he often reprimanded me."

Tetsuko looked up and smiled.

 ** _Flashback_**

 _Oboro and Tetsuko were sitting side by side by the river, fishing. The atmosphere was very peaceful and Tetsuko started whistling._

 _"Stop that."_

 _"What?"_

 _"Whistling."_

 _"But I like it."_

 _"It's unladylike."_

 _"No one treats me like a lady."_

 _"That's because you don't act like one."_

 _She snorted. "And what's wrong with that?"_

 _"Nothing's wrong with that. But sometimes you have to know who you are. You can dress as a boy, doing things boys do. But you still have to remember that you are a girl."_

 _Tetsuko sighed. "You're always doing that. Nobume-chan also said you're doing that to her a lot of times too."_

 _"And I'm doing it for your own good. Seriously, you and Nobume... Can you be a bit conscious about your gender?"_

 _"Well, I am sometimes, it's just..."_ I get weird, fluttering feelings in my stomach when I'm with you whenever I am conscious of my gender. And if I become a "girl", I can't be as close to you as I am now.

 _Oboro turned to her and raised an eyebrow. "What?"_

 _"N-nothing."_ _She knew she couldn't say what she had in mind._

 _Later in the day, they met up with their friends to play soccer. One of the kids spit at the ground. Tetsuko watched it, but even before an idea formed in her mind, Oboro glared at her. "Don't you dare."_

 _"What? You think I'll do that? I would never do that. It's gross."_

 _"Good that there is still some semblance of femininity in you."_

 _She widened her eyes. "You think I'm feminine?"_

 _"Only 10 %" Oboro said and Tetsuko snorted._

 ** _End of flashback_**

Tetsuko sighed with a fond smile on her face. Tsukuyo smiled as well. "You really like him, huh?" Suddenly realizing what she said, Tsukuyo clamped her hands on her mouth.

Tetsuko snapped out of her daze. "Eh? What? I-it's not like that. Well, sure we're very close but only as friends. And he... well... he..." Tetsuko looked down, blushing a little. "He's the only one who makes me feel like a girl whenever I'm around him."

Tsukuyo widened her eyes as she watched the older girl. _Could it be, Tetsuko-san..._

"Tetsuko! Come here! I pick some clothes for you to try on" Ikumatsu called out from across the room.

"Tetsuko-san! Come!" Nobume called out as well.

Tetsuko gulped. "I'm... not sure I'm suited to wear feminine clothes."

"Of course you are. You are attractive in your own way, Tetsuko-san" Tsukuyo said, smiling reassuringly. She then gave the older girl a knowing smile. "And maybe, a certain someone might notice you if you actually wear something girly for once." She gently pushed Tetsuko forward as they walked together toward Ikumatsu and Nobume.

* * *

After shopping some clothes, the four women went to Mr. Donuts to eat. Nobume finally got to taste the green donut.

"It's bitter!" the youngest of the girls exclaimed.

"You don't like it?" Tetsuko asked.

"No, I love it! There's a mixture of bitterness and sweetness. It's good."

Tsukuyo chuckled. "Bitter and sweet, eh? Sounds a lot like falling in love." Suddenly, the three other girls choked on what they drank/ate. Tsukuyo watched in bewilderment as the others tried to swallow their food and hit their chest repeatedly. "Sorry. Did I say something wrong?"

"What? Oh no it's not that."

"No, of course not. It's just..."

"Well, it's... never mind."

Tsukuyo raised an eyebrow at them. She then turned to Tetsuko. "So Tetsuko-san, you already have a date for this group date?"

"Um, yeah..."

"What about you Ikumatsu-san?"

"I have someone in mind... But I haven't asked him."

Nobume blinked. "Why not?"

"I... don't know what to say to him... How I should ask him..."

"Just ask him to go with you. How hard can it be?"

Ikumatsu didn't say anything and quietly sipped her tea. "I... I think I'll call him this afternoon."

"Why not now?"

Ikumatsu looked up in surprise. "What?"

"Now" Nobume said.

"Well, why not Ikumatsu? You don't have anything to do right now and if you don't ask him now, he will make other plans for Sunday" Tetsuko said. She smiled teasingly at her friend in revenge mode.

"That's right, why not tell him now?" Tsukuyo said.

"O... okay... I'll go tell him" Ikumatsu said as she got up.

"Why do you have to get up? You can call him here, right now" Tetsuko said. Ikumatsu sent a warning look to her friend who pretended she didn't notice.

Ikumatsu slowly sat back down. "Okay. I'll call him here... Right now..."


	6. When a girl wants to ask a boy

In the small studio in Yoshida Mansion, there was a ruckus going on. Not that it was anything new. It was fitting since the Joui Quartet was having a band practice. After one hour of practicing, the four band members decided to take a break. And for a whole 5 minutes, two of the members were trying to pry specific information from their brother.

"Come on, who is it?"

"No one."

"It can't be no one if you make a special song like that."

"Shut up Zura."

"Who're you calling Zura?!"

"So who is it?"

"You shut up too, Gintoki. I told you it's nobody important."

"Oh come on, Shin-chan. You know about me and Tsukuyo. And about Zura—"

"Hei!"

"His feelings for Ikumatsu-senpai. And why didn't you tell us about this special girl, hmm? What's wrong?"

Kotarou nodded along with Gintoki. "Yeah. Who is it? It's not like you to hide something from us. Why won't you tell us?"

Shinsuke looked away and bit his lower lip. He couldn't possibly tell his brothers that he was in love with their sister. He glanced at Tatsuma, silently asking for help. Tatsuma only smiled sadly, knowing his friend's circumstance. Deciding to help his shorter friend, the brown perm-head said "Hei, now that we're talking about woman, how's it between you and Ikumatsu-senpai, Zura?"

"I told you, don't call me that! Anyway, what're you talking about? There's nothing between us."

Gintoki raised an eyebrow. "Not even after the vacation?"

"No."

"That's boring." Gintoki turned to Tatsuma. "So... how's Mutsu?"

"Oh... well she's very busy right now. She's back in China with her family. She said to me that she'd be back soon. But well, I don't know when soon is. AHAHAHA..." Tatsuma forced a laugh, but for just a second, his three best friends could see the worry in his eyes. Mutsu didn't tell Tatsuma anything because she didn't want to worry him. But she did tell the three Yoshidas about the purpose of her trip. Her father wanted her to break up with Tatsuma and continue their family business. She, of course refused. She went home to take care of things and hopefully, would go back victorious.

"Look Tatsuma... she'll be alright" Kotarou said.

"I know" he said, abruptly stopped laughing but still smiling. "I know. She's a strong girl. Stronger than me. I just hope she doesn't do something suicidal. I mean... well you know how her family is." After a few seconds, he jumped back into his energetic demeanor. "So... In this group, Gintoki and I already have girlfriends. Now it's Shinsuke and Kotarou we have to help."

"Oh no. Not me. My case is a lost cause. You should help Kotarou instead" Shinsuke said. He looked away, hiding his anguished look. Gintoki stared at him and raised an eyebrow. Since when did Shinsuke have so little faith in himself? Just what kind of girl did he like anyway?

"What? Me? No, I'M the one with the lost cause here. I mean... I... Senpai and I... It's just... you know what happened to her fiancé recently" Kotarou said.

"That 'recently' is really like ages ago."

"It's actually 6 years ago Gintoki."

"Doesn't matter. The point is then was then. Now is now. Go and ask her out or something."

"I can't, I..." suddenly, his cell phone ring. Kotarou pulled it out of his jeans' pocket and looked at the caller ID. He gaped. Speak of the devil.

"What? Who is it?" Shinsuke said, noticing his brother's expression.

"It's... her..."

"Who?"

"Ikumatsu-senpai."

"EHHHH?!"

"What kind of timing is it?!"

Kotarou picked it up. Gintoki, Shinsuke and Tatsuma leaned toward him in order to hear as well, but Kotarou kicked them away and moved out of the studio. "Moshi Moshi."

"Um, K-Kotarou-kun?" That's weird. Her voice was so small that he almost couldn't hear her, as if she was whispering.

"Yes Senpai?" There was a long pause at the end of the line that he thought it had disconnected. "Um, Senpai? Are you still there?"

"Would you—" pause "WOUDLYOULIKETOGOONAGROUPDATEWITHME!"

A long pause. And then. "What?" Kotarou said slowly and deliberately. "Are you okay?" Kotarou asked her, as if asking an elderly patient in a hospital.

"I'm okay! Wait, let me try again." He could hear her taking a deep breath. "Um, you see... Our fraternity group is having a group date this Sunday in the nearby Amusement Park and every member is required to bring a date with them and I sort of don't have anyone to go with me and since I thought if you are free then maybe—"

"Calm down, Senpai. So?"

"Well... I was wondering if you... want to... go with me... for this group date... I mean if you're free this Sunday."

There was a long pause as Kotarou tried to process it. So fraternity group in which she was a member of, was having a group date this Sunday. She did not have anyone to go with her. So she asked him. Was that it?

"Sure."

"I see. Well, if you— Wait what?"

"Sure, I'll go with you."

"Oh... Okay... Well... see you then."

"Right. In the Amusement Park near the campus, right?"

"Yes, that one. Okay bye."

"Bye." And the conversation ended just like that. Kotarou blinked as he stared at his cell phone. Was that conversation really happened?

"So what was it?" Gintoki asked. He, Shinsuke and Tatsuma were sticking their heads out of the door of the studio. "What're you guys talking about?"

"She said her fraternity group is going to have a group date this Sunday. Because she didn't have anyone else to go with her, she asked me to go."

"And you said yes?" Shinsuke asked.

"Well... yes?"

"Alright, Kotarou!" Tatsuma exclaimed with a wide grin.

"Wow..." Shinsuke mumbled.

"You did it Man! I was thinking you should ask her out. Didn't expect her to ask you first. But I guess it's only fitting since she's the older one."

"It's not like that Gintoki. She said she didn't have anyone to go so she asked me."

Tatsuma shook his head. "You moron. When a girl asks you out by saying that she doesn't have anyone else to go, that means the opposite. She planned to go with you from the start."

"I don't want YOU calling me a moron. And, really?"

"Yup."

"Both of you are morons. Anyway Kotarou, you have to prepare yourself for this Sunday" Shinsuke said.

Kotarou tilted his head to the side. "Why? What's wrong?"

"YOU'RE GOING ON A DATE MAN!"

* * *

Back at the town square, Ikumatsu sighed and leaned her back on her chair. Tsukuyo, Nobume and Tetsuko leaned forward toward her, silently asking. Ikumatsu sweatdropped. "He said yes."

A smile broke out on the three's faces and in an untypical action, they squealed together. Ikumatsu sighed again, but smiled nonetheless. She had been so nervous in asking Kotarou on a "date". When he paused there for a while, she thought he would refuse and she had already given up hope. But then he said "sure" and she could feel a flutter in her stomach.

"Who're you asking anyway? I couldn't catch the name you called just now" Nobume asked.

"Um... it's a friend of mine." She couldn't tell her that she was asking her brother on a date.

"See? It's not that hard, right?" Tetsuko said.

Ikumatsu pouted a little. The thing was, Tetsuko asked her closest friend to go with her. She however, was asking a _younger_ guy. The rest of the day was spent with laughter and a little bit of teasing here and there, until at 5 p.m., the girls decided to call it a day.

On their way to Hoshina house, Nobume called out to Tsukuyo, who was riding at the back of her motorbike. "Hei Tsukuyo-san, what do you say we see what they'll do this Sunday in the Amusement Park?"

"Eh? What? You mean like spying on them?"

"Uh-huh."

"But... isn't that rude? And why do you want to do it anyway?"

"Well, it'll be interesting. I know I can rope Gin-nii into coming with us" Nobume said with a mischievous smirk. Tsukuyo sweatdropped. If Nobume teamed up with Gintoki, then there's no stopping them.

"I'll... think about it..."

* * *

Tsukuyo was arriving early to school the next morning. She wanted to see her former room in Student Council meeting room before school started. She walked in, feeling nostalgic already, seeing the stack of paperwork and the large round table where the Student Council members usually used for a meeting. She smiled as she put her hand on her old desk.

"Tsukuyo-senpai?"

Tsukuyo looked up in surprise to see a brunette with a small scar under her left eye. "Oh, Haji... Sorry, I was just... reminiscing I guess... I mean it's all yours now."

Haji, the current Student Council President, smiled at the former President. "No, that's alright. You've been the President two times in a row. I'm sure you feel nostalgic." The brunette was carrying a stack of paper in her hands. She walked into the room and put it on the table. "Now, that you're here Senpai, there's something I want to ask you. About the joint festival we're going to have with Sakura High School."

The next few minutes before school start, Tsukuyo was discussing things with Haji regarding what she should do and prepare regarding the festival. The joint cultural festival reminded Tsukuyo of the girl she met at the temple who looked like her. Asaemon wasn't it? She hoped she could meet her again during the festival.

"By the way Tsukuyo-san, how are things between your sister and the dean?" Haji asked her. From some unknown source, Haji found out that her sister Hinowa had been dating their school's dean. Of course she got excited. She already got excited when she found out Tsukuyo was dating Gintoki, and even more when she found out that her sister was kind of in relationship with his father. Tsukuyo had no idea where she knew that. She suspected Ayame but wouldn't jump to that conclusion so quickly. Haji gushed over that information as she hardly even know anything about the dean beside his name and any gossip about the personal life of the Yoshida family always became such a hot topic around the academy.

"Haji, I told you not to say that out loud. If someone knows about it, there'll be uproar." And there was already enough uproar from the fact that the dean's son and most feared delinquent in the school dated the former student council president and honour student, much more that the dean of the school himself was dating a poor disabled seamstress.

Haji, who was also the former Student Council vice president giggled. "Sorry. It's just such a juicy story."

"You didn't tell anyone about this, right?"

"No, don't worry. So how is it?"

Tsukuyo smiled. "Well, they're going on their first date last week."

"Ohhh! Where?!"

"In Ikedaya Hotel."

"Ikedaya Hotel! That's the most prestigious and luxurious hotel in town!"

"I know."

"Geez, you two are so lucky you're dating a Yoshida. How do you attract them?"

"We really don't do anything, Haji. It just happened. Both for my sister and me."

"But really, Ikedaya Hotel for a first date... That's really outrageous. Well sadly, though the hotel is famous for its service, it also has a dark history."

Tsukuyo turned to Haji sharply, blinking a few times. "Dark... history? ... What is it?"

"You don't know Tsukuyo-senpai? It happened 10 years ago."

"I was still living on the other side of town back then, and... well... I didn't read newspaper much and we had no TV."

"Oh... well there was a tragedy there. You know that the place is also used for government meeting right?"

"Yes?"

"Well, there was a mass killing of government officials there 10 years ago. In the room at the top of the building."

Tsukuyo froze. "Mass... killing...? Who did it?"

"Nobody knew until today. The killer killed everyone in sight. One of the survivor said he looked like a demon. One of the victims was the former Prime Minister Tokugawa Sadasada."

"I thought the Prime Minister was killed by an assassin."

"People thought he did. Many people said the person doing the mass killing was really just an assassin appointed to kill Sadasada-sama. But the question is why did he kill the others too, and why did he do it in the open instead of hiding himself? It's like... he's killing all the people in his sight without looking who it was... Like a killing machine. A psychopath."

Tsukuyo gaped. She didn't know that such a famous hotel had such a dark story. There's something tugging inside her heart. Like the story had some connection with something. But what is it?

Suddenly the school bell rang. "Oh well, we've got to go to class. I'll see you around Senpai. I'll come to you again when I have something to ask."


	7. Practice makes safe

**Sorry guys. I've been busy with part time jobs and writing proposal for my final paper. Because of that, I can't update fanfiction as often as I could. Anyway, it's very stressing, and I admit writing this fanfic really loosen me up. And here is another chapter.**

In the afternoon, when the school had finished, Tsukuyo ran hurriedly toward Kendo club training room. Haji had stopped her again on the way to ask for something. She hoped she's not that late. She finally arrived at the entrance of the room. There, under a painting sat Gintoki, already garbed in Hakama. He raised an eyebrow at her.

"You look like you've run a marathon" he commented.

"Well, I thought I was late. It'll be rude of me to be late when I'm the one who asked you to train me" she said after she calmed down a little.

"Rest assured. You're not late. I'm usually later than that. Anyway, we're still waiting for one more member."

She blinked. One more member? The Kendo club was taking a break today because there was no tournament. That's why Gintoki told her to come today if she wanted to continue her training in martial arts. She thought it would be a private training session. Then who was-

The shoji door on the other side of the room was opened abruptly. "Sorry I'm late Gin-san. It's just this is the first time I'm coming into the High School building without Nee-san so I kind of got lost." Shinpachi entered the room. After a few minutes, he realized another presence other than Gintoki there.

Tsukuyo and Shinpachi looked at each other. "Oh..." they said unison. Tsukuyo remembered that Gintoki also trained Shinpachi regularly. But she didn't know he was also training him today.

"I'm sorry Gin-san. Did I come at the wrong-"

"No, no. You're right on time Pachi Boy. Now go change into hakama you two."

Tsukuyo and Shinpachi looked at him in bewilderment, but obeyed nonetheless. They went out of the room for a few minutes and came back garbed in hakama.

"Alright" Gintoki said, finally getting up from his spot. "Since I don't want to train two times in a day, I decided to train you at the same time." The other two blinked at him. "You two will train together."

"Oh..." Shinpachi said, nodding in understanding. Tsukuyo felt a little nervous. Shinpachi was still in elementary school, but he had learned martial arts from a very young age. She however was a still a beginner.

Gintoki went to the rack and took two shinais from it. "Follow me" Gintoki said, walking toward the shoji door.

"Wait, we're not going to train here?" Tsukuyo asked him.

"It's too risky here. Especially because we have two beginners here."

Tsukuyo raised an eyebrow. _Two beginners?_

Tsukuyo and Shinpachi followed Gintoki into another room where the Karate club often trained. Unlike the Kendo club training room which was covered in hard wooden floor, the floor of the Karate club training room was softer, being layered by cottony material. Gintoki turned around to face them.

"Alright. Since I'm too lazy to train two people one-by-one, so I decided to train you two at the same time. And I decided that today I will teach you something else." He stopped to look at them. "I'm going to teach you Aikido."

Tsukuyo blinked in surprise. "Aikido?" Shinpachi asked.

"You know about it?" Gintoki asked the boy.

"Well, not much. But I heard the moves are mostly about dodging and disarming."

The silver head nodded. "Exactly. And I'm going to teach you that."

"If it's only about dodging then what is good about it?" Tsukuyo asked him.

"What is good? Want me to show you?" Gintoki throw one of the shinais he had in his hands to Shinpachi. He put the other one on the ground. "Shinpachi, attack me with all you can."

"Eh? You're not going to use shinai too?"

"This is not Kendo. Now come on. Attack me with all your power" Gintoki said, standing in the middle of the room unarmed.

Shinpachi gulped but then nodded. With a loud battle cry, he ran toward Gintoki, brandishing the shinai. It happened so fast. Tsukuyo couldn't see what happened. In less than one second, Shinpachi was lying on the ground and Gintoki was holding the shinai, which once was in Shinpachi's hand, and pointing it to the boy's throat. Shinpachi widened his eyes in shock. Thankfully, the floor was not as hard as that of the kendo club's training room or the impact of the fall would be very painful. Tsukuyo suddenly realized why Gintoki wanted them to move here.

Gintoki held out his hand and helped Shinpachi get up. "Aikido is not just about dodging and disarming. It's about using the attack force of the opponents or their weapons against them. It's perfect against someone holding a bladed weapon or a gun."

"Why did you suddenly decide to teach me Aikido, Gin-san? We're usually only train in Kendo" Shinpachi asked.

"Well, Tsukuyo here is a beginner. She asked me to teach her some martial arts before the new semester and I think Kendo doesn't really suit her. But since I'm also training you, It kinds of a bother to train you two separately, so I decided train you at the same time. Besides, you need to learn other kinds of martial arts than Kendo sometimes."

Gintoki gave the boy the shinai back. He took the other shinai lying on the floor and throw it to Tsukuyo. "Now for starter, you'll do the basic training of Kendo by swinging your shinais. But before that, let's warm up first."

They were doing just that for a few minutes. After a few minutes of warm up, they began the training by swinging the shinai. Tsukuyo didn't know why they were doing this when Aikido was supposed to be about disarming weapon. Shinpachi then told her during the training that Aikido was once used to defend against the sword attack of the samurais, and doing this was somewhat good to develop the sense of timing which was crucial in Aikido.

"I'm sorry that you have to adjust to me, Shinpachi-kun. I know that you're supposed to train in Kendo" she said.

"Oh no, that's fine Tsukuyo-san. I don't mind learning other martial arts other than Kendo. Gin-san's right. I have to start learning other things too."

After a few minutes swinging the shinai, Gintoki taught them how dodging and disarming worked.

"When someone tries to hit you, like this" Gintoki said, moving Tsukuyo's hand to the front of his body, "then you turn and angle your body out of the way" he said, turning his body to the side, "and grab the hand and twist it" he said, grabbing her hand and twisting the wrist a little. "Do it with a hard force and make them fall down. If they had weapon in their hands like sword or dagger, it will fall from their hand and you can take it while holding the hand. Of course the real thing is not as easy as what I demonstrate. That's why you need to be calm when facing danger and develop a keen sense of timing for this to work."

They were training like that for two hours. Tsukuyo was used in playing sports like tennis and volleyball so the training was not really tiring for her. During the training, she stole quick glances at Gintoki every once in a while. When he was in couching mode, he was actually strict, serious and dared she say, quite professional. He was not joking around like usual and he really took this seriously. She remembered that his fangirls often stopped by to watch him during Kendo club's training and now she understood why. This side of Gintoki, was unlike his casual, lethargic and easygoing demeanor, but was still charming nonetheless. Tsukuyo somehow glad she was able to see this side of him as well. She was reminded once again that his family owned a martial arts school once in the countryside and he and his siblings helped their father in training the students. That must be where he got such couching skill.

They finally called it a day when it was already 6 p.m.

"Alright you two, we're done for today." Tsukuyo and Shinpachi collapsed on the floor. Gintoki held out his hand for Shinpachi. "Not bad kid. For a beginner at least." Shinpachi smiled a little and took his hand. After helping Shinpachi stood up, he walked toward Tsukuyo and held out his hand as well. She smiled at him and took his hand. She took note that even after training them for two hours, Gintoki didn't even break a sweat. "You've done well too. In fact it's not bad at all."

"Thank you. But I still have a long way to go."

"That's what practice is for. Well, go to the shower you two. You're all sweaty. I'll wait here."

"What? You're not showering Gin-san?" Shinpachi then also realized that Gintoki was not even sweating. "Nevermind."

After Tsukuyo and Shinpachi finished showering, the three of them prepared to go home. Gintoki and Tsukuyo went to escort Shinpachi back to the Shimura house. Tae greeted them at the door.

"Welcome back, Shin-chan. Ara? There's someone with you" she said, noticing Tsukuyo and Gintoki. "You want to stay for a while, Tsukuyo, Gin-san?"

"No, thanks Tae. I have to go back home or my sister will be worried" Tsukuyo replied.

"Nah, after that practice, I want to go back home and rest" Gintoki said.

"You didn't even break a sweat during practise" Tsukuyo commented but Gintoki ignored her.

The couple said good bye to Shinpachi and Tae and went on their way to Tsukuyo's house since Gintoki always insisted on taking her home. They went home by foot because Gintoki didn't bring his motorbike today. Their school's parking lot only opened until 5 p.m. and Gintoki never brought it whenever he planned to stay in school pass 5 p.m. He also only ever brought his motorbike whenever he planned to go somewhere else after school before going home.

"That really was one hell of a practice. And it's just the start."

"You're the one who asked me to train you from the beginning so don't complain" Gintoki said.

"I'm not complaining. I actually want to thank you for bothering to teach me. Though you're so lazy that you rather teach me and Shinpachi at the same time."

Gintoki yawned. "So I am."

Tsukuyo smiled a little. "By the way, of all the martial arts, why did you decide to teach me Aikido?"

"Because I don't want you to hurt people." The way he said that was strange in her opinion. There was something a bit ominous about it. She looked at Gintoki and saw his jaw hardened a little.

"It's not like I'm learning it to hurt people. I just want something to defend for myself and others."

"Yes, and that's why I'm teaching you Aikido. There's no attacking moves."

Before she could reply however, Gintoki stopped moving abruptly. She blinked. "What's wrong Gintoki?"

Gintoki didn't answer her. His eyes looked at their surroundings. He looked guarded. "No... Nothing... You want some ice cream Tsukuyo?"

The sudden change of subject confused her. "Huh?"

"Let's go get some ice cream. I'm kinda hungry after the practice. If I remember right, there's a minimarket around here."

"What're you-"

"Can you go to the minimarket and buy us some ice cream? I'll wait in the park. I'm too tired to go anywhere" he said, pointing to the park bench beside them.

"Wha-"

"Please?" He looked at her with that childish smile that she always liked. His action confused her greatly but she couldn't refuse. Not when he looked at her like that.

 _Damn you. You know that face is my weakness._ "Oh, fine. Wait here" she said as she went to search for the minimarket. The place was 3 kilometers away from the park. As she was buying ice cream for both of them, a forbidding feeling came over her. She felt uneasy, like something was not right. She quickly purchased the ice cream, walked out of the store and ran back as fast as she could to the park.

A few meters away, Tsukuyo heard the sound of scuffling. She quickened her pace. When she arrived, there she saw Gintoki, fighting against 7 men in white, with their faces covered in masks. To her horror, they were wielding swords. There were already 3 men on the ground, with the ones still standing, there were 10 of them in total. Gintoki disarmed two of them, taking the swords in their hands and stabbed them in the stomach with their own swords; Tsukuyo gasped in horror. Gintoki pulled out two things from his backpack and Tsukuyo widened her eyes. He wielded a dagger in one hand and a gun in the other. The White Demon easily parried the men's swords with the smaller dagger.

"GINTOKI!"

"DON'T COME HERE!"

But it's too late. One of them noticed Tsukuyo and already ran to her. "RUN TSUKUYO!"

But Tsukuyo didn't do that. She watched as one of the masked men ran toward her, ready to attack. Following her impulse, she analyzed her attacker. _Turn your body out of the way._ She turned her body to the side. _And_ _grab the wrist of your opponent and twist it._ She grabbed the masked man's wrist and twisted it as hard as she could while taking away the sword with her other hand. The man fell down on his back and she blinked. She looked at the sword in her hand still in a daze. _I actually did it?_

But the man was still not giving up. He pulled out a dagger from his belt and got up, ready to attack her again. Tsukuyo was not prepared for that. He jumped toward her, ready to attack, before he was shot right on his shoulder and leg. He fell down again, blood coming out of his wound. Tsukuyo gaped and looked at Gintoki, with a gun in hand. Then realization dawned on her.

Gintoki was the one who shot him.

He shot him with the gun.

"Gintoki! That was unnecessary!"

"It was! He's about to kill you!"

"You don't know whether he was or not!"

"HE WOULD!"

Tsukuyo jumped at Gintoki's outburst. He looked really different than usual. Distressed, agitated, but also frightened. Realizing his outburst, he took a deep breath and tried to calm himself. "Look Tsukuyo, he's trying to kill you. Believe me. I know these people and they wouldn't settle for less than that. If I didn't do that, you would have been killed."

Tsukuyo's body trembled. "A... Alright. I understand" she forced herself saying, carefully as not to cause another outburst from him. She looked around her and noticed all the masked men were already down. She inspected them one by one. They were all unconscious or injured but still alive. All of them were dark-skinned and had red dots on their forehead. She instantly realized they were Indian.

After calming down a little after the shock, Tsukuyo turned to Gintoki. "G-Gin... Gintoki... what... what happened?"

"Kidnapping attempt. Apparently, they know that I'm the son of the owner of the Yoshida family and attempted to kidnap me for ransom."

"Oh... I... see..." Suddenly, something clicked in her mind and she snapped. "No, more importantly, what are those things you have in your hands?!"

Gintoki lifted the gun and the dagger. "Oh these?"

"Yes, those! You can't carry around something like that!" Gintoki rummaged in his backpack. "You'd be arrested for it! It's against the law to bring around firearm and bladed weapon!"

Gintoki pulled out a paper from his backpack and push it in front of Tsukuyo's face. She blinked and stepped back a little to read the paper better. "'With this, we hereby allow Yoshida Gintoki to bring any kinds of weapon on his person from firearm to bladed weapon.'" She glanced at the bottom corners of the paper. "Signed personally by Prime Minister, Tokugawa Shigeshige and National Police Commissionaire, Matsudaira Katakuriko?! And with government stamp too?!"

Tsukuyo gaped at the paper. "This... This is..."

"A permit" he said. "Now I don't have to worry about being arrested, right?"

Tsukuyo looked on in dibelief as Gintoki wrapped the gun and dagger in a cloth and put it back inside his backpack. "You have such a permit?"

"Well my life is constantly on the line so I am allowed to bring weapons at all times."

Tsukuyo nodded slowly. She pondered about this. Was this the reason why Gintoki asked her to buy some ice cream while he waited in the park? To get her away from the fight? Now that she thought about it, she wondered whether Kotarou, Shinsuke, Nobume and Oboro had government permit to bring around weapons too.

"By the way, I saw that."

"Huh? What?"

"You're using that technique I taught you back then."

Tsukuyo was reminded that she _had_ disarmed one of the masked men just then. She smiled sheepishly. "Uh, yeah... I guess... I don't know what came over me. I just followed my impulse."

Gintoki smiled. "That was amazing Tsukuyo. You can already use the technique you just learn in one day. You really have talent. As your trainer I'm proud of you. Tsukuyo smiled a little as he pulled his cell phone out of his backpack and started dialing. "We should call the police" Gintoki said.

"Uh... right..." As he called for the police, Tsukuyo felt uneasy about this situation somehow. She knew that it was normal for rich people to be targeted by criminals. She did believe that these men had intended to kidnap Gintoki. Despite using swords in their fight, they didn't seem to try to hurt him and only wanted to capture him (though one of them was clearly trying to kill her just now). Still, there was something unsettling about this. The police arrived after a while. One group was wearing black and gold uniform, while another group was wearing white and gold uniform. She recognized them as the special police unit Shinsengumi and Mimawarigumi.

A big hand fell on her shoulder and Tsukuyo jumped a little. She whirled around to see Gintoki. Tsukuyo could detect some distress and exhaustion from his expression, and for the first time since they started their afternoon training, he was sweating. "Let's go home."

* * *

Gintoki finally arrived at the Yoshida Mansion at 8.30 p.m. Just after he walked into the main room, his siblings suddenly came out of nowhere, asking him about his condition.

"Are you alright? You're not hurt?" Kotarou asked.

"I'm fine."

"I heard those guys are from Shinra clan" Shinsuke said.

"Yes they are."

"I heard Tsukuyo-san was with you. How did she react?" Nobume asked.

"She was shocked of course. But she accepted it when I said those guys tried to kidnap me for ransom. And she's safe back in her home now so don't worry."

"Everything's alright?" Oboro asked.

"Yeah, don't worry. The chip is safe."

"It's not the chip we're worried about" Oboro said sternly. "It's you." Kotarou, Shinsuke and Nobume also looked at him with a mixture of worry and sadness and Gintoki's face fell.

"Don't worry. What happened ten years ago won't happen again."

"Gintoki that's not-"

"Look, I'm tired. Can we just not talk about this for now?" His four siblings didn't say anything. "I'm hungry."

"There's dinner in the dining room waiting for you" Kotarou said. Gintoki nodded.

Shinsuke took Gintoki's backpack in his hand. "I'll put this in your room. Just go and eat." Gintoki walked to the dining room wordlessly.

* * *

After eating some meal, Gintoki went upstairs to go to his room. He was not surprised to find his father sitting on the couch in the TV room beside his bedroom as if waiting for him.

"I thought you were in Kyoto."

"I flew back here a few minutes ago" Shouyou replied. He smiled a little and beckoned Gintoki to sit beside him. He walked towar him and sat beside his father.

"You heard from Sasaki-san, did you?"

"I was just a bit worried." He patted his son's head. "The investigation shows that they are members of Shinra clan."

"Yeah, they are."

"If they are Shinra, then that could only mean one thing." Shouyou's face lost the smile.

"Don't worry, Dad. It's over now."

"No Gintoki." They looked at each other and Gintoki could see his own distress mirrored in Shouyou's eyes. "I'm afraid this is just the beginning."


	8. Girls always go all out on first dates

**Please read and review**

At Sunday, Kotarou was standing in front of the amusement park near Gintama University, waiting for his "date" and her friend since they decided to go in together. He still couldn't believe she actually asked him out on a date. It was usually the guys who asked the girls. But, well, she _was_ the older one. Well she said she didn't have anyone to go with her and he had no reason to refuse... but still...

The long-haired young man was standing rigidly, sweating bullets. Oh God! He's actually going on a date with an older woman! Should he really be here? Should he go home?

Meanwhile, not far from the amusement park's gate, stood four figures behind a lamp post.

"What's wrong with him? He looks like a man who's about to face a death sentence."

"He's nervous, can you blame him? It's his first date with the girl of his dream."

"But still, I never thought that the one Ikumatsu-senpai was asking was Kotarou-kun."

"Well, I had my suspicion when I heard about it, but yeah it's still surprising."

Tsukuyo observed Kotarou. Shinsuke was right, he did look very nervous, like he was thinking to just go back home and forget about all of this. She then glanced at three of Yoshida siblings who were standing beside her; they all sported different expressions. Gintoki's face was blank and he even started to dig his pinky finger into his nose. Shinsuke looked very serious and he frowned deeply. Nobume was smirking and there was a mischievous sparkle in her eyes. Tsukuyo sighed internally. She didn't know why she was dragged into this. Nobume and Gintoki forced her to come and Shinsuke didn't seem to mind. Tsukuyo knew that she was dragged into this mischief because they already saw her as a part of this family. But still, she thought Kotarou and Ikumatsu... and Tetsuko to some extent, deserved to have some privacy during their first date.

Suddenly, they saw Kotarou flicking his head to the side. "Oh, here she comes!" Nobume exclaimed. Ikumatsu and Tetsuko arrived in front of the gate of the amusement park. They walked out of a black car owned by Nishiki family, and walked toward Kotarou.

Tsukuyo blinked. It seemed that Tetsuko did not only get new wardrobe but also new haircut. Her hair was still short, but instead of being spiky like usual, she got pixie cut now. It did make her hair look neater and frame her face nicely. She was wearing red low-shoulder top with long sleeves, red tartan mini skirt, black stockings and black mary jane shoes. She looked remarkably feminine. Ikumatsu looked great as well. Her long blonde hair which was usually tied into a side ponytail, was tied into a neat but beautiful braided bun. She was wearing a sleeveless white t-shirt and long frilly blue skirt and a pair of kitten heels. Tsukuyo observed Ikumatsu's hair and couldn't help but notice how beautiful it looked. She touched her own blonde hair and wondered. Should she grow her hair long too?

Kotarou blushed as he looked at Ikumatsu. He couldn't help but spluttering. "Ah! Senpai! You... you look... well... uh... um..."

"Yes?" Ikumatsu said, a little hopeful. She had dressed up for him after all.

"Well... different..."

"Oh..." she said in disappointment.

"B-but you're still b-beautiful!"

Ikumatsu smiled and blushed. "Oh well... thank you." Tetsuko smiled and sighed. Young love.

"You look beautiful too, Tetsuko-san" Kotarou said.

"Ah... Thank you Kotarou" Tetsuko replied. To be honest, she was extremely self-conscious right now. It was the first time she had worn something girly. Ikumatsu had dragged her to a hair salon yesterday and changed her hair into a pixie cut. It's still short, but more neat and feminine-looking at least. Her father and brother had gaped at her when they saw her walking out of the house in these clothes. She had been fidgeting all the way from her house where Ikumatsu and her driver had picked her up until now. She didn't know how Oboro would think after seeing her like this. Maybe he would comment on how she finally acted like a real woman for once.

"Um... I think we should go meet the others inside. We're gathering in front of the mascot statue, right?" Tetsuko said. Kotarou and Ikumatsu nodded.

Back at the four stalkers, Tsukuyo, Gintoki, Nobume and Shinsuke were still watching the three as they bought tickets to go inside the amusement park.

Gintoki let out a whistle. "Never thought I see the day Tetsuko-san looks so feminine. She brings a whole new aura. Not that it's not good."

Shinsuke nodded, a little dazed. "Yeah. Ikumatsu-senpai looks great too. Did you see Kotarou spluttering just now?"

Tsukuyo and Nobume shot them a look with frown and pout. "What?" Gintoki and Shinsuke said in confusion at the look the girls were giving them.

After they made sure Kotarou, Ikumatsu and Tetsuko were inside, they quickly went to the ticket window to buy their own tickets. They went inside the amusement park and looked around for their targets. "There they are!" Nobume exclaimed and pointed at the statue of the mascot of the amusement park. It was the first time Tsukuyo ever went to this amusement park so this was the first time she saw the mascot. She couldn't help but frown at the weird shape. It looked like an orange tube, with a head, a small straight line for a mouth, two pair of black blank eyes, and two sticks for hands. The blank expression on the _thing's_ face reminded her of her own boyfriend.

"Is that... the mascot?" Tsukuyo asked Gintoki.

"Yup."

"What is that thing?"

"Dunno. They call it Justaway."

"Justaway?"

"Yeah.

Tsukuyo gave it a long look. "You know it kind of looks like you."

Gintoki frowned. "How so?"

"Well, you both have blank expression."

Gintoki looked at her with red dead fish eyes that looked very similar with the Justaway. "I'll just take that as a compliment. Besides, the visitors of this park actually think the Justaway's kind of cute so that makes me cute too. Though I myself don't know what it actually is."

They started to walk forward as Shinsuke and Nobume had already walked ahead of them. The four of them stopped behind a tree and watched the gathering of college students and some others in front of the statue. Tetsuko was walking toward her date and the Yoshida siblings widened their eyes.

"Oboro-nii-san?" Gintoki said in disbelief.

"He's Tetsuko-san's date?" Shinsuke questioned.

"Does that mean they're officially dating now?" Nobume asked no one in particular.

Oboro blinked as he saw Tetsuko. He almost didn't recognize her when she walked toward him and to his embarrassment, he had to stare at her for three seconds before finally convincing himself it was her. What... this is... he couldn't believe it... Tetsuko... Where was the tomboyish woman he had grown up with? Who was this feminine and attractive woman?

"You... are you... You're Tetsuko? Right?"

Tetsuko sighed and looked down, her face turning red in embarrassment. Of course he would be very surprised. This wasn't like her. Even she hadn't believed that it was her when she saw herself in the mirror this morning. "What if I say yes?"

"Uh... well... you look... good... I guess... If a bit different." He looked away. For some reason he couldn't look at her for long.

"Nii-san?" Kotarou said in surprise as he, along with Ikumatsu approached Tetsuko and his eldest brother. Oboro turned to look at Kotarou. "What are you doing here?"

"What do you mean? I'm part of this group so of course I'll be here. What are _you_ doing here?" Oboro said, as surprised as his younger brother.

"Oh... well... um..." Kotarou rubbed the back of his neck and glanced at Ikumatsu beside him, who looked down and blushed.

"I... asked him to be my date" Ikumatsu answered for him.

Oboro blinked. He looked at his brother, then at Ikumatsu, then back at his brother. He smiled knowingly. "Are you two-"

"WE'RE NOT!" they said in unison, faces red.

"I wasn't even finished talking" Oboro said as Tetsuko giggled.

"So, Nii-san... where's your date?" Kotarou asked to divert their attention from him.

This time, it was Oboro who looked away in discomfort. "Um... it's me..." Tetsuko said, answering for him.

"EH! Tetsuko-san! You're dating my brother?!"

"I-it's nothing like that! We're just going as friends! Right, Oboro?" she said, flailing her arms.

"Um, yes. Of course" he answered rigidly.

"Oh" Kotarou said, not hiding his disappointment. "That's too bad. I thought you two would make a good couple." His honest remark caused Oboro and Tetsuko to blush.

Ikumatsu chuckled as she watched them. _Nice one Kotarou._

"Is everyone here already?!" a voice suddenly called out. They turned to see a handsome young man with blonde hair, with a woman with long blonde hair with Victorian curly hairstyle by his side. "Well, since we're all here already, I want to say, welcome to our group date. For the members of this group as well as those not part of it, thank you for coming. Right now, we're going to walk around this amusement park in group. If you want to go somewhere alone with your date, you have to tell us first, then you can go." He then smiled at the young woman beside him, who seemed to be his date. "Well, then... Shall we go?"

The large group now started to move. In their walk, they didn't realize four shadows following them. "Great! Kota-nii is going with Ikumatsu-san and Obo-nii with Tetsuko-san. If all goes well, then two more men from our family will finally get a lover!" Nobume said in excitement.

"Yeah. More people to join the family" Shinsuke added flatly.

"And then you two, go find your own partners then it'll be complete" Gintoki remarked.

Shinsuke and Nobume froze which caused Gintoki to frown at them in confusion. Tsukuyo, the only other person who knew their situation looked at them sadly. She smiled and put her hand each on Shinsuke and Nobume's shoulders. "Let's just go and see what will happen."


	9. Be very protective of your date

**Again, please read and review.**

The fraternity group was moving around the amusement park while four high-schoolers were tailing them. They didn't seem to have a particular place in mind since they only walked around. It was still too early for lunch too.

"Where do you want to go Kyoushirou-san?" a young woman with blonde curly hair asked the blonde young man who was also the leader of this group.

"I actually have nothing in mind," Kyoushirou replied rather sheepishly. He turned to his white-haired friend. They weren't really close, but they were friendly with each other and helped each other lots of time. The blonde always respected the other guy, not because he was the dean's son but because he knew that the other was dependable and reliable. "Where do you think we should go Yoshida-kun?"

A little surprised to be brought into the conversation, Oboro turned to the other man, eyebrow raised. He noticed that the other members of the group were looking at him expectantly now. "You're asking my opinion?"

"Of course."

Oboro put a hand under his chin. "What kind of charity event are we planning to do?"

"We're planning to give free education for poor children and disabled people. I was thinking of not only basic education of knowledge like mathematics or science but also some handy skills. You know, like skills in music or art."

Oboro hummed, thinking for a few seconds. "Then why don't we try to go to a handcraft studio? I know there is one here. Handicraft involves certain skills that are useful for business like making dolls, accessories, lamp, phone strap, pencil case and many others. It's good to train motor skills and enhance creativity, and I heard that it is useful for therapy. If we learn to make some things there, we can teach the poor children and disabled people how to do it during the event. Or we can make the studio the place for the event." The others in the group stared at him in surprise and he blinked. "It's just my idea. You don't have to follow it."

"No I think that's a good idea" Kyoushirou said.

"Yeah!"

"That's great!"

"Let's do this!"

"Good job Yoshida-kun!"

"Yeah, that's nice!"

"Let's go there!"

Oboro blinked as the others started to enthusiastically walk toward the handcraft studio. Tetsuko smiled at him from his side. "As expected of a student from educational studies major. I'm glad you finally participate in group discussion."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Well, even if I dragged you to the group meeting, you are quiet most of the time and you don't give any comment during group's talk or discussion. And when you have a question, you usually asked me instead of asking others. It's like you were forced to be there."

Oboro blinked. "I know that joining this group was not really my choice, but I never feel forced to do this. It's because-"

"I asked you. Yes, I know." Tetsuko smiled. "See, you start to change."

"In what way?"

"More loosened up."

Oboro huffed up but gave her a small smile.

"Well then, let's follow the others" Tetsuko said, linking her arms with him and pulling him with her. Oboro stiffened a little. He was used to her doing this, and yet, for some unknown reason, he felt a little awkward today. Tetsuko felt the same way because her heart was beating like crazy, but she ignored it and acted like nothing was different.

The group arrived at the handcraft studio and started to try the things there. There were tutorials for making different kinds of things, from phone straps, dolls, lamps, pencil cases, nameplates and many others. Kyoushiro said they were going to stay there for a while so everyone was free to do what they wanted to do. Gintoki, Tsukuyo, Shinsuke and Nobume who followed the group, slipped into the studio and hid behind homemade curtains and blinds.

"Where are they?" Gintoki said, peeking behind the curtains of seashells.

"I spot Oboro and Tetsuko-san" Shinsuke said. He indicated with his chin toward a place in the corner, where Oboro and Tetsuko were watching turorial for making baskets from paper.

"And that's Ikumatsu-san and Kota-nii" Nobume said, pointing toward the doll section. Some of the couples were gathering to watch tutorials for making dolls.

Tsukuyo noticed that other people in the studio were looking at them in suspicion. She sweatdropped. "Hey guys, people are looking at us strangely. Maybe we should split up. Not too far from each other of course. Just to make things less suspicious."

"I guess..." Nobume said. "Besides, they seem quite cozy with each other. Nothing big happens. Let's leave them alone for now. I want to see how they make those cute phone straps anyway."

"Make sure they don't see you!" Shinsuke shout-whispered, but Nobume had started to walk away toward the strap section. Shinsuke sighed and shrugged. He walked toward the exit. Tsukuyo hoped he didn't plan to smoke. But then again, he said he had already quitted so she thought it was okay.

Tsukuyo then realized that Gintoki had already gone somewhere before Nobume and Shinsuke had gone. She looked around and finally found her boyfrined watching a tutorial for making a pencil box in a shape of milk carton box. She giggled when she realized he's actually listening attentively to the instruction. _Don't tell me he wants to make one at home._ Tsukuyo shook her head at her childishly cute boyfriend. She walked toward him to join him. Maybe there were some things here she could bring home for Seita.

* * *

Oboro didn't like this. He looked at Tetsuko and he really didn't like this. He didn't like the way Tetsuko dressed...

... Okay that was lie. He did find her current appearance attractive. (Though it's not like she was not attractive with her usual spiky hair, long jeans, sneakers and hoodie).

No, the problem was not the way she dressed. It's how the way she dress affected people, himself included.

Her low shoulder red top exposed her white neck and shoulders (He didn't even realize that her neck and shoulders were _this_ white despite her being always out in the sun, playing sports. Why did he even start thinking about her neck and shoulders?). Her red lipstick and pink blush contrasted nicely with her pale skin and matched her dress (Yes she even wore make up. Since when did she use make up? Why did she have to wear make up?). And because they were almost the same height (though he was still taller by a few inches), when he turned to look at her beside him, her neck and shoulders were what attracted his attention first. He looked away and clicked his tongue. He never felt this awkward and uncomfortable around her before. And what's worse, he noticed that he was not the only one actually affected. Some men and boys were stealing glances at her, including the ones from their group. He was definitely not the only one who was stunned with her change of appearance. He would glare at the other guys once in a while. He didn't like the way they looked at her. In fact, if all men started to look at her that way, he preferred for her to go back wearing those tomboyish clothes she always wore.

"What's wrong Oboro?" Tetsuko asked, turning to her friend. He was frowning deeply, looking around as if he was defending his food from a pack of wolves.

"Nothing."

"Well, you don't look so good there."

"I'm fine."

Oboro realized there was a man walking toward their direction and he was looking (more like ogling) at Tetsuko. They were standing behind the lamp rack and the man reached out his hand as if to take one of the lamps near Tetsuko's shoulder, but Oboro knew it was just an excuse to touch her. He swiftly put an arm around her and pulled her out of the way. Tetsuko blushed as the man looked at them in disappointment. Oboro sent him a deathly glare that sent chills down one's spine, causing the man to scurry away in fright.

Tetsuko didn't know what to do with this situation. She felt so warm and strangely elated feeling Oboro's protective arm around her shoulders. But her heart also jumped against her ribcage and her chest felt like it's going to explode if he didn't let go soon.

"Honjou-kun" Oboro said, suddenly calling his blonde friend, who was looking at the flower vases with his date by his side.

"Yes?"

"I want to go somewhere alone with Tetsuko. Is it okay?"

"Eh?" Tetsuko said in surprise and confusion.

Kyoushirou smiled a knowing smile. "Of course. I did say that you can go alone with your date to wherever you want to go. Have fun you two. If you want to join us again, just contact me and I'll tell you where we are."

"Sure, thank you" Oboro said, nodding. He walked away toward the front door, pulling Tetsuko with him, his arms still around her shoulders.

"Eh? Eh? EH? EH?!" Tetsuko said in confusion. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Ikumatsu smiling at her, mouthing 'Good luck'.

"EEEHHH?!"

Nobume, who was looking at the phone straps, saw her brother pulling Tetsuko away from the studio. She blinked. Oboro looked pissed while Tetsuko looked somewhere between confused and embarrassed. _Wow. What are they doing? Don't tell me Obo-nii are going to do something to her._ Out of curiosity, she followed them out the door.

* * *

"Kotarou-kun, what is that?"

"It's Elizabeth. She's my friend."

"What is she?"

"A penguin."

"That's so cute!"

"Isn't it?"

"Can you teach me how to make a doll like that?"

"Sure."

"You're still in High School, right?"

"Yes, twelfth grade."

"So young!"

"Not really."

"Want Nee-san to teach you how to make origami doll?"

Ikumatsu was sitting at the sidelines near the doll sections. She was frowning deeply and her cheeks puffed in annoyance. There, sitting at the one of the tables was Kotarou, surrounded by her female college friends. He was making a hand puppet that looked like the white penguin he owned. She couldn't have guessed that he would be popular among her friends, but it turned out he did. Many of them thought his quirks were kind of cute. Like what they were doing now. Plus, because he was the youngest in this group date, it triggered their big sister instinct, or something like that. And what's worse? Kotarou didn't even realize that they were actually flirting with him.

Ikumatsu tapped her foot impatiently. She was practically glaring at the back of Kotarou's head. She was fuming. It's not like she didn't try to stay by his side. She was right beside him when he started making that Elizabeth hand puppet when some of her female friends came and cooed at him. Their numbers increased and they started to ask this and that and somehow, Ikumatsu was pushed away from Kotarou. And now, she's standing here, watching her date surrounded by other girls and he didn't seem to realize that she was gone. Looking around, Ikumatsu realized that she was not the only one who was pissed. Some of the guys whose date now flocked around Kotarou were looking at him in envy. Meanwhile, Gintoki, Tsukuyo and Shinsuke were watching the whole thing, crouching behind a large vase.

"Gosh! What is that idiot doing?! Didn't he realize that his date's gone?!" Gintoki said in frustration.

"Apparently not" Shinsuke replied, sighing. "Clueless thickhead."

"Ikumatsu-san doesn't look happy." Tsukuyo sweatdropped, watching Ikumatsu glare at the girls and Kotarou.

"Well of course she doesn't! No one wants to be ignored by his or her own date" Gintoki commented.

"But she's supposed to be more proactive too. If she wants, she can go right there, pull Kotarou away and tell the other girls that he's hers. That's what I'll do if someone is taking an interest in my date" Shinsuke said. He then blinked as if he just realized something and looked around. "Hey, where's Nobume?"

Gintoki and Tsukuyo seemed to notice that the younger girl was missing. "She was here just now, wasn't she?" Gintoki said

"I saw her go out of the studio. I thought she went out there to meet you" Tsukuyo said, turning to Shinsuke.

Shinsuke frowned. "I didn't see her." He got up from his crouching position. "I'll go look for her. You can stay here."

"No we'll go he-"

Tsukuyo tugged on Gintoki's arm before he got up. "I think it's better that we stay here." Gintoki frowned at his girlfriend in confusion while she turned to Shinsuke and gave him an encouraging smile. "Go find her." Shinsuke nodded and walked away.

Gintoki watched his brother walking out of the studio before turning to Tsukuyo. "Something's not right here. I already noticed that those two are acting weird. And now, _you're_ acting weird too. What's going on Tsukuyo? Tell me now."

"Not now, Gintoki. I can't tell you about it. I promised not to tell anyone. It's something you have to ask Shinsuke-kun and Nobume-chan yourself."

Gintoki sighed but decided to let it go. "Fine, but I'm totally gonna find out, one way or another." Tsukuyo smiled weakly. _And you better prepare yourself when you find out._


	10. The heart wants what it wants

Oboro pulled Tetsuko away from the studio and around the amusement park. To her embarrassment, they were holding hands, with him pulling her along, leading the way. She didn't know where they were going. When she asked him where they would go, he didn't answer. He looked annoyed for whatever reason so she just kept her mouth shut. They ended up in a secluded bench, right behind the mascot where they were meeting before. He sat down and she sat beside him on the bench. They stayed like that for a few seconds until she finally asked him. "So what's wrong? Why did you pull me away from the studio?"

"Hmm? Nothing's wrong. I just don't like there."

"But you're the one who suggested that place."

"I changed my mind."

Tetsuko huffed in confusion and amusement. "You're weird. What's wrong? Tell me honestly."

Oboro glanced at her and raised an eyebrow. It took a few seconds until he said, "Honestly? Because you look like that."

Tetsuko was more than surprised to hear that. "Because I look like this?"

"Yes."

"You... don't like it?"

"No!" he said, frowning deeply.

She looked away, feeling dejected. Even with this new look, he stil didn't like her? Did she really have no hope? Then why did she have to go all out to dress like this for him when he didn't even appreciate it? Wearing make up felt like putting a second skin on her face and her feet, used in wearing flats, hurt from walking in heels so much. But she endured it all because for once in her life, she wanted to look feminine in front of him. But it all went to waste if he didn't even like it one bit.

Oboro noticed her sad look. "Tetsuko? What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she said, turning her head away from him. He frowned in confusion. He reached out his hand to put a hand on her shoulder, but stopped because he realized he would touch her bare skin if he did. She noticed this and bit her lip. _He doesn't even want to touch me._

Tetsuko suddenly got up from her seat. "Sorry, I... I think I need to go... somewhere..." she said, still looking away from him.

"What? Where?"

"Somewhere." _Anywhere but near you._

"No" he said firmly, grabbing her hand. "Don't go."

She sighed in exasperation. "Why?"

"You will stay here."

"I don't even know why we're here. Why do you choose this place?"

"Because it's secluded. No one's here but us."

She turned around to finally look at him and blinked. "Huh?"

"I..." Oboro suddenly speechless. He realized that his words could be interpreted in a different way. And with the way her cheeks reddened, he figured she thought of the same thing. "No! It's not like that! Look, I just don't want you to go back to the crowd."

"And why is that? Explain to me."

Oboro opened his mouth but nothing came out. Tetsuko waited patiently. Finally he let out a long breath from his mouth. "Just... please sit down."

She did what he asked and turned her whole body so it was facing him. "I don't like your new appearance" he began. She frowned. "It attracts unnecessary attention."

She blinked. "What?"

He put a hand on his face and rubbed it in frustration. And... was that blush on his cheeks? "It's just... you look... you look good you know... but, it's just... not you I guess." He sighed. "I'm so used to see you wearing men's clothes that I don't know how to react when you start wearing... well... women's clothes. You look different... Just different... I don't how to feel about it. At the same time, it looks nice, but at the same time, it doesn't seem... natural... And do you even realize how the other guys are reacting to you?"

"What?" she asked again in confusion.

"You really don't realize it, do you? That every man and guy that walked pass us in this park was practically... staring... at you?"

"Really?"

"Yes, really!"

Tetsuko fiddled with her hands and there were butterflies in her stomach. He actually said she looked good. So... did that mean he appreacited her looks? But he said it wasn't really her and that it didn't seem natural. She didn't know wheter he liked her new appearance or not. She's so confused...

"I just... I don't like the way those men look at you. They looked like they wanted to gobble you. If they look at you like that because you look like this, then I prefer that you go back to wearing men's clothes." He looked at her seriously. "Personally, I prefer for you to dress just the way you used to."

Her heart skipped in her chest. So that's how he felt.

Oboro sighed. "Why do you have to dress like this in the first place? It's just a simple outing."

Tetsuko looked to the side, blushing. "But... this is... well... a 'date'... granted it's a group date but... still... And I..." She looked down. Should she tell him? Wasn't it too early? But now that they were talking about this, why not went for it? "I just wanted you to see at me as a woman for the first time."

Oboro blinked and turned to face her slowly. "What?" he murmured. "What... what do you mean by that? See you as a woman? You _are_ a woman Tetsuko. And I always consider you as one. What you say doesn't make any sense."

She let out a long sigh. Good grief! She just had to explain to him, did she?!

"Oboro, what do you think of me?"

"What?"

"What do you think about me? What do you feel when you're around me? How do you see me?" Tetsuko looked at him with seriousness and it made him uncomfortable.

Oboro thought for a second. What did he feel about Tetsuko?

"I think you are my good friend. Well, you are not very feminine, but I never think much about that so I don't really care. You are..." He looked at Tetsuko. There was apprehension and anxiety in her green eyes, but also... hope? He didn't know what to think about her expression and suddenly, words just came out of his mouth. "...wonderful. You are kind, caring and understanding. You always know and understand what I'm feeling. And you know what is best for me, sometimes even when I don't know it myself. You are strong, physically and mentally. You take over all of the housework in your house after your mother died, and you even help your father and brother in their work. And..." He was stuck speechless after that. And so did Tetsuko. He looked at her closely, the way her green eyes shone in the sunlight and her blue hair framed her face nicely. "You are so beautiful" he said in a whisper.

Tetsuko's face reddened and a bright smile emerged on her face. "Really?" she asked softly.

"Yes" he breathed out. Why were they talking so softly?

Her smile widened and she let out a sigh. "Well, here's what I think about you" she said. Oboro blinked and leaned forward toward her. "I think you are wonderful too. You are devoted and dedicated to the people you love, particularly your family. You are hardworking, sometimes to the point of being workaholic, but it's not really that bad. Sure, you kind of lack social life, but that doesn't mean you are not friendly and polite to other people. And you also never mind it whenever I drag you to a social gathering, and you mingle with people just fine, albeit a little rigid. You never complain everytime I drag you to some places, and even if you do, you still come. And you are a sucker for children. I know you dote on your younger siblings, don't even try to deny it. You like putting things into order and can be quite a control freak sometimes, but you do it just to make other people feel safe and comfortable." She looked down on her lap, her face flushing. "And... I don't mind spending the rest of my life with someone like you."

Oboro blinked and suddenly, like a lamp being turned on in his brain, something clicked in his mind. Did Tetsuko just...

"Tetsuko... Are you... Are you..."

She finally looked up to his face. Her face was still red, but she was smiling sincerely. She knew he understood it now. "I always see you as a man, not just as a friend. A man that I would like to be with."

He was really stuck speechless now. There were so many things going on inside his head and there were many emotions he felt at the same time. Here, his best friend, whom he had known since they were small kids was confessing to him and sort of asked his permission for them to have more. He felt so many different emotions. Surprise, confusion, happiness, and also... fear?

"I'm sorry Tetsuko, but... Not now... I... I can't..."

Tetsuko widened her eyes as if realizing her mistake. "Oh no. I'm sorry Oboro. I didn't mean—"

"No, that's fine... It's just... I... We..." He shook his head and let out a breath through his mouth.

Tetsuko smiled in understanding and reached out to take his hand. "I know. Don't worry. You don't have to say it. I understand."

Tetsuko was one of the few people who knew what the Yoshida family actually was and for what purpose the Gintama Academy was made. In fact, most of the people they knew from the countryside knew about it. They all had a hand in hiding them back then after all. She was shocked after learning about the truth, but she quickly accepted them again. She had grown fond of them and she knew that it was all in the past. Now, they were all doing their best to make amend what they thought was their fault, but it never was like that to Tetsuko. In her opinion, Oboro and the others were the victims and not the perpetrators.

"I can't. With Dad dating Hinowa-san and even Gintoki dating Tsukuyo-san, it's already risky enough. But I accept that because they both really need it. Especially Gintoki, considering his position in this whole situation. But me... I just... I can't..."

"I know. I understand" she said, squeezing his hand.

Oboro looked at Tetsuko, with sad, guilty expression. "I'm sorry Tetsuko."

"It's alright." She smiled and now took both of his hands in hers. "Maybe someday?"

"Yes... When they were captured, and it's all over for us... And it will come sooner than I thought."

* * *

Nobume looked around the crowd in the amusement park and sighed. She lost them. She had been following Oboro and Tetsuko to know what's going on. But her brother was walking very fast and she couldn't catch up to them in this crowd while also trying to be unseen by them.

Nobume looked at her surrounding. While this amusement park was located near her familiy's academy and her family even sponsored the place, she never really came here. Well, she could come with her friends. Contrary to what was seen, Nobume _did_ have some close female friends other than Sougo and Kamui. But most of them preferred to go to this park with their boyfriends. Well, Nobume didn't have a boyfriend. Some guys actually did find her attractive and she was asked out a lot. But she was never really interested in any of them, so she rejected them all. Those who were persistent, she got rid herself or let Sougo and Kamui do it. Well, she was close to her two guy friends, but their friendship were too strong that she couldn't see herself in a romantic relationship with either of them. Plus, she knew they had a thing for Kagura and Soyo, no matter how much the two denied it. She once had had a childish crush on her father's friend Isaburo, but it disappeared as she grew up. And it couldn't even be called love. She thought about dating and couldn't see herself doing it. She tried to picture it in her mind. She saw herself walking side-by-side with someone. They were holding hands. He had green eyes, dark purple hair...

"AKH! NO WAY!" she screamed out in shock, startling the people around her. She tugged on her hair, trying to banish that imagination out of her head, ignoring the strange looks she got from the crowd. _No way! No way! It's forbidden! I can't see myself with Sougo and Kamui, but I can see myself with HIM?! Why does it keep happening?!_ She tried to calm her thumping heart.

Nobume saw many couples walked by, holding hands, eating ice cream together and— eeew, there was one smooching in the corner. She realized that the majority of people that came to this park were couples. Being alone in this crowd made her feel left out. She decided to go back to the studio. She turned around and started to walk back, but she stopped. Which way did she come from? She looked around and she realized she didn't know where to go.

 _Oh no. Now, I'm officially lost._

* * *

 _Where is that girl go?_ Shinsuke mused as he walked around the amusement park. But then he realized he couldn't search the whole park, looking for her; it'd take all day. He pulled out his phone and started dialing her number. But for some reason, it couldn't reach her. He tried to dial it seven times and even sent her text messages, but it still didn't reach and the messages were not sent.

"What the—what's wrong with that girl's phone?" he mumbled, irritation mixed with worry. He considered asking the park's attendant to call her with the public address system. But then Oboro and the others would know that they were following them.

When he was busy thinking about what to do, Shinsuke felt a tug on his hand. He looked at his phone and widened his eyes. The Mrs. Donut strap was hovering in the air and tugging his phone to the left. He took the strap in his hand and rolled it with his fingers. Was that just now a supernatural phenomenon or what? Suddenly, he felt a tug toward the left and frowned. He didn't know what's going on until he remembered that Nobume once said that the dolls had magnet in it. So it must be a magnetic pull. And it kept tugging him to a certain direction.

Shinsuke looked to his left, then back at his phone strap. Would this thing lead him to Nobume? Deciding to trust his instinct, he followed the direction where the doll was tugging him.

* * *

"Oh no, my battery runs out," Nobume mumbled while looking at her phone. She couldn't call anyone to ask their location with her phone dead. The crowd seemed to get bigger and she didn't even know where she was. She remembered that the studio was between a children roller coaster and a photobox, but she couldn't see anything like that around her. The only thing she could see was a merry-go-round and a tunnel of love. Just how far did she go?

Nobume decided to find a place where she could charge her phone, when she felt a tug on her hand. She looked down and saw Mr. Donut strap was tugging her in a certain direction. She grabbed it and inspected it in her hand. It was still pulling her forward. _Could it be the magnet inside? Where did it lead to?_

She started to think when she realized he was pointing toward his lover, Mrs. Donut... Which was owned by Shinsuke...

 _Does that mean he's near?_

With her heart thumping inside her chest, Nobume decided to walk toward the direction Mr. Donut was pulling her to.

* * *

It's been thirty minutes and Shinsuke kept walking toward the direction Mrs. Donut was pulling him to. He didn't know why he even bothered to follow it. It's not certain whether his strap would lead to Nobume's strap. It could lead to any Mr. Donut strap, not just Nobume's. He looked back and saw that he was already quite far from the crafting studio. _Oh great..._

Shinsuke looked forward and saw a merry-go-round and a tunnel of love in his vision. The strap suddenly pulled him toward the tunnel of love.

* * *

Nobume looked around as she passed by beside the tunnel of love. It's been thirty minutes and she was worried she had gotten really lost. "I hope you really are leading me to the right way" she said to her strap.

She saw a glimpse of dark purple blur in the crowd and her heart lept to her throat. She stood in front of the tunnel of love, as the figure came fully into her vision.

"Nobume!" Shinsuke called out to her as he jogged toward her. His right hand was extended, which was holding his phone with Mrs. Donut strap attached to. She just stood there, with her left hand holding her own phone and strap. He walked to her until he stood right in front of her, their hands still extended, their phones straps now attached to each other.

"Where have you been?! Why did you go out?!"

"S-sorry. I saw Obo-nii and Tetsuko-san going out of the studio and I was kind of curious so I followed them. But I lost them and then got lost myself" she explained, rather sheepishly.

"You know I've been searching for you around here for almost an hour? Stop making people worried!" he said, sighing in exasperation.

"You're alone? Where's Gin-nii and Tsukuyo-san?"

"Yes, I'm alone. They're back in the studio."

"Oohh..." It dawned on her that it was the first time they were alone together after summer vacation. After coming back from that vacation, she made sure not to end up alone with him because it made her feel uncomfortable. She avoided him as often and as natural as she could. Didn't help that they were practically living together. Even in their house, she would only approach him when there was someone else there with them, be it Gintoki, Kotarou, Oboro, or their Dad. But this time, they were alone...

"What's wrong with your phone anyway? I kept calling you but it can't be reached."

"Uh, it's out of battery" she said, showing him her phone. They looked down and realized that their straps were now attached to each other. Mr. and Mrs. Donut were holding hands together and, it could be just their imagination, but the two looked happier than before.

"How did you find me, anyway?" she asked him.

"I followed her" he said, indicating to his strap. "It kept tugging me so I just followed my gut instinct and went to where she pulled me."

She smiled a little. "That's funny. Mr. Donut also kept tugging me toward you and I followed him. Guess their magnet is pretty strong huh?"

"Yeah it is. I mean I walked for thirty minutes from where I was before and the distance is like three kilometers or so. It's amazing they have magnetic pull from that far away."

Nobume blinked. That information was... amazing to say the least. But still, in all the times she and Shinsuke were near each other before, these dolls never reacted that way toward one another. They never did when Shinsuke and Nobume were home together, when in school, or when they were practically in each other's vicinity. Then why did they pull toward each other now? And they were attached to each other so tight as if not wanting to let go.

Shinsuke reveived a message and he pulled his phone closer to his face to read it, forcing Nobume's phone to go with him.

 _We'll handle things here. You just go have some alone time with Nobume. I know you miss her. Good luck_ _J_

 _From: Tsukuyo_

Shinsuke flushed a little. He did tell Tsukuyo once that Nobume was avoiding him lately, but he didn't say that he missed her... Okay so he did, but he would never admit that. He didn't know why she was avoiding him and he felt a little lonely because of it. They didn't have time alone together anymore. Even in their house! But now, Shinsuke realized that they were alone for the first time ever since that vacation...

"Who's that?" she asked.

"Tsukuyo."

Nobume frowned. They had each other's numbers? Did they text each other regularly, or something?

"We... should go back" Nobume said rigidly, determined to get rid of the thought of Shinsuke and Tsukuyo texting each other every night. She took a step to walk away but felt a tug on her hand, still holding her phone. She realized that their straps, and to some extent their hands, were still connected to each other.

"We don't have to" he said

"Huh?"

"I mean..." Shinsuke looked away from her, hiding his flushing face. "We can just... look around or something."

"You don't want to go back to Tsukuyo-san?"

"Huh? What do you mean?" he said, eyebrows raising in confusion.

She sighed. "Never mind." She looked away from him, her expression was blank and unreadable. He didn't know what she meant by that and what she was thinking. "So... you want to look around?" she asked. Her voice was soft and sounded unsure.

"Well... yeah..." he said, speaking just as softly.

"With me?"

"Who else?" He frowned again from her question. Why did she ask that?

"What about Ikumatsu-san and Kota-nii?"

"Gintoki and Tsukuyo will take care of it."

"And Obo-nii and Tetsuko-san?"

"Well, you followed them and they went missing so there's nothing we can do."

"So you do want to look around here?"

"Well, I mean... we're in amusement park. It's such a shame to not look around."

"It's weird coming from you" she commented flatly.

"Oh shut up! You want to go or not?"

Nobume looked at Shinsuke and they stared at each other for a few seconds. She couldn't deny that she missed being alone with him like this. She looked down and saw their still attached straps. "Well, it's not like I have any choice since you know... we're attached together" she said, lifting their joined phones. She didn't know why but she felt her face warm at her own words.

Shinsuke also blushed a little. "Right. Then we can—"

"Hey, there! Young couple over there! Why don't you try to ride this romantic tunnel of love together?! It'll make you grow closer to your partner!" the attendant of the tunnel of love called out to them.

"We're not a couple! We're siblings!" they shouted in unison. Though their identical flushed face made their exclamation less convincing.

"Sure, then why are you standing in our line?" Nobume and Shinsuke had just realized that they were standing in front of the ride and it didn't help their situation at all as they flushed redder. "Anyway, you're standing in our line so you might as well get in" the attendant said as he pulled the two and pushed them into a boat.

"Wait what?!" they said in unison.

"Happy riding!" the attendant said cheerfully as the ride went on. Before they could go out, the boat moved and entered the tunnel. Nobume and Shinsuke cursed and cussed along the way, as they looked away from each other, faces still hot. Great... This just made things even more awkward for them than it already was.

Nobume glanced at Mr. and Mrs. Donut, sitting with their phones in between her and Shinsuke. The dolls were still holding hands with each other, and she remembered what Tsukuyo had said. Could it be these dolls knew that their owners missed each other and tried to help them find each other's heart?

It's cliche, cheesy and overly romantic. So unsuited for her and Shinsuke. But the dolls were looking at her, as if they were giving her encouragement. And Nobume smiled and found the courage to reach for Shinsuke's hand. He jumped a little at the touch but didn't pull away or made any comment about it, which encouraged her to keep her hand where it was. After a while, she felt him squeezed her hand back, and this time, it was her who jumped.

They stayed like that for a while until bright lights, the colors of red and pink, shone around them. Pink hearts were floating in the air and a slow music was playing inside the tunnel. It's only the start and their hands were already sweating.

This was going to be a long ride.


	11. Don't ignore your date for other women

Back at the crafting studio, Gintoki and Tsukuyo were still watching the rest of the group, mainly Kotarou ad Ikumatsu. Kotarou was still surrounded by the girls and after finishing Elizabeth puppet, he started to make another doll. Ikumatsu was still standing at the sideline, watching him with a deep frown on her face.

Gintoki slapped his face in exasperation. "Gosh, how long 'ntil that idiot realize it?! Why's he so obsessed with plushies?!"

Tsukuyo sweatdropped. She then noticed Ikumatsu sighing and then heading for the door. Worried about the older girl, she stood up to go after her.

"Where're you going?"

"To get some fresh air."

* * *

The park had a small fish pond where various birds lived as well. The visitors could feed ducks, gooses and swans there. Tsukuyo found Ikumatsu sitting on a bench at the edge of the pond, watching the birds swimming or floating elegantly above the water. She seemed to be lost in thought as Tsukuyo cautiously approached her.

"Ikumatsu-san?"

Snapped out of her thoughts, Ikumatsu turned to look at the younger girl in surprise. "Tsukuyo-chan! What are you doing here? Going on a date with Gintoki-kun?"

"Uh..." Tsukuyo couldn't think of any other excuses and she didn't want to tell her that she'd been spying on them. "Yes."

"Where is he then?" Ikumatsu said, looking over Tsukuyo's shoulder, expecting Gintoki to pop out.

"He's off somewhere... buying sweets... A-anyway, I saw you here and I thought I should greet you. Are you here for the group date?"

"Yes."

"So... where's your date? Why are you alone here?"

Ikumatsu frowned. "He's busy with other girls... making dolls... It's not as strange as it sounded. Basically, he's busy doing his own things that he didn't notice that I was gone. He didn't even realize when girls flirt with him. And he let them get close to him and I can't reach him at all." Ikumatsu sighed and leaned har back on the bench. "Why do I have to fall for such a guy?" she murmured. She realized with a start what she had just said. She turned to see Tsukuyo staring at her in surprise. "No, I mean... well I like him but, when I said 'fall' I mean I-"

Tsukuyo smiled. "It's okay Ikumatsu-san. I know you like him. Whoevere he is." Ikumatsu blushed and looked down on her skirt. She didn't know that Tsukuyo already knew that it was Kotarou. The younger girl put her hand on the other's shoulder. "You know... maybe you should remind him that you were there. You know, be more proactive."

"How?"

"He's your date. You're the one asking him out and he accepted. You can freely claim him. If your friends decide to flirt with him then you can tell them not to. Because he's yours."

Ikumatsu blushed a little. Thinking about Kotarou as hers was a little... well it made butterflies running amok in her stomach.

"If you really like him Ikumatsu-san, then you should fight for him. Don't let other girls claim him without a fight." Suddenly, Tsukuyo felt like she had been struck by lightning. _Wait, isn't that how I used to be? I avoided Gintoki instead of fighting for him?_ She sweatdropped and sighed. _How ironic that I gave her such advice when I didn't do the same. Oh well, people can learn from experience._

"I guess you're right." Ikumatsu smiled slightly. "I think I'll go back to check on him."

* * *

After a few minutes focusing on the dolls he made, Kotarou finally realized something was missing. Or rather someone.

 _Huh? Where's Ikumatsu-senpai?_ "Where's Ikumatsu-senpai?" he asked his question out loud.

"Ikumatsu? We haven't seen her for a while" anwered one of the girls.

"I don't see her either" another added.

"Hey, can you teach me to make one of those dolls, Kotarou?"

But Kotarou ignored all of them and started to stand up. "Excuse me ladies." He carefully walked out of the circle of college girls surrounding him and started to look around for one particular blonde. He walked through different sections but still couldn't find her. She's not in the studio.

"Finally noticed that your date's missing?" a voice said behind him.

Kotarou whirled around. "Gintoki! What are you doing here?!"

"What do you think I'm doing? I'm checking on you to see whether your date is succesful or not. And it's going good until you're so absorbed in making puppets and being oblivious to your surrounding. You should pay more attention to your date and not flirt with other women."

Kotarou blinked in surprise and confusion. "What? I was not flirting with other women."

"You were!"

"I was not! They only complimented me for doing so well in making hand puppets and plushies and wanted me to teach them how to make one!"

"Idiot! They're doing it to get your attention! They're totally flirting with you! Oh my God! How thick is your head?! Ikumatsu-senpai's been standing there, watching you being surrounded by other women and you do nothing about it. Because you're ignoring her, she went out the door like an abandoned puppy in all those lost puppy movies."

Kotarou widened his eyes. "S-she did? Where did she go?"

"Dunno. Go out there. Find her and fix this." But Kotarou was already out the door before Gintoki could finish that sentence.

* * *

Ikumatsu was walking back toward the studio when she saw someone approach her. She widened her eyes in surprise as Kotarou called out to her. "Ikumatsu-senpai!"

Kotaru ran toward her and stopped in front of her. "S-sorry for ignoring you! I didn't realize that you're gone until just now! A-are you okay?! Did I intentionally hurt your feelings?!"

Ikumatsu was tempted to say that yes, he did hurt her by ignoring her, but seeing the genuine worry and regret in his eyes, she decided to forgive him. "Not really," she said with a sigh.

"T-then why did you go out?"

"What, do you want me to be there with you?"

"Of course! Why do say that?"

"Oh, I don't know. You seemed to enjoy making dolls with my friends more than with me."

Kotarou blinked in genuine confusion. "I like making dolls regardless whom I'm doing it with. But if I have to choose someone, I'd rather be with you."

Kotarou smiled sincerely. Ikumatsu found his tendency to say things honestly both exasperating and endearing. She looked away, blushing a little. "Well... if you say so... Shall we go back? Maybe you want to make another doll?"

To her surprise, he shook his head. "No, I think I'm done doing that. Can we do something else? Together just the two of us? I want to make it up to you for ignoring you back then."

It was through sheer will power that Ikumatsu kept her face the neutral color. "I-is that so? F-fine. Well... where do you want to go? I'll go wherever you want to."

"Really? Can I choose?"

"Sure. I don't have anything in mind anyway."

"I was thinking of seeing a pet show around here." Ikumatsu had thought he would say that, knowing him and his thought process well enough. She nodded.

"Alright then. Let's go." The two walked side by side, Kotarou grinning at the thought of the adorable kittens and puppies he would see at the show while Ikumatsu were shaking her head and smiling fondly at him. Watching him from the corner of her eyes, she thought that he was always like that. His methods were sometimes strange, but he always had the best intention and he did that with a sincerity that could melt anyone's heart. Like when he comforted her when Daigo was dead.

 _Flashback_

 _A fourteen-year old blonde girl was sitting at the edge of a river, hugging her knees and buried her face into them. She was sobbing quietly as she remembered his face and the news that came four days ago._

Ikumatsu... Daigo's gone...

 _Ikumatsu couldn't help but cried a little louder, remembering what her father said. She had lost her most precious childhood friend and fiancé. Minami Daigo, the son of the owner of a famous bank, was her closest friend since they were eight. The bank had cooperation with Nishikiya_ _,_ _and Daigo and Ikumatsu were betrothed from an early age to strengthen that tie. She didn't think much about it, but she grew to like him since they were promised to marry in the future anyway. However, Daigo had died during a car crash five days ago with his parents. That was the first thing that she heard from her father when she came home from school the next day. She hadn't stopped crying ever since._

 _"Ikumatsu-senpai?" She heard a voice calling from behind her. She looked up and turned her face around to see a boy two years younger than her, with long black hair tied in a ponytail. It was another friend from her childhood and her underclassman in Gintama school._

 _"Oh... it's just you." She turned back to bury her face on her knees._

 _Kotarou cautiously approached her. He bit his lower lip and searched for the right words to say. "Everyone is looking for you," he said, telling the obvious. Of course they were. She had been missing a lot of times during the day in the past few days. Her friends and family were worried about her, especially since she usually wouldn't come home until evening. "Your father is worried about you," Kotarou said again. Ikumatsu knew that too. She didn't want to make her father worried, but she needed a time alone to cry her heart out._

 _She heard a rustle of grass and turned her head to the side to see Kotarou walking toward her. He seemed to be debating whether he should sit beside her or not. Ikumatsu didn't really care anymore. Her tears had dried and she was simply tired. She scooted away to make room for him. Taking the hint, he sat next to her._

 _Ikumatsu was back burying her face on her knees. She wasn't crying anymore, simply laying her head there out of exhaustion. For a long moment, neither of them talk_ _ed_ _and Ikumatsu almost forgot that Kotarou was there until she felt a tap on her shoulder. She looked up and faced him and saw... Kotarou extending a rice ball in his hand to her. After a few seconds of processing what he did, she blinked._

 _"What is that?"_

 _"A rice ball" he replied simply._

 _"I know that. Why are you giving me that?"_

 _"My grandmother used to tell me when she was alive that good food can make you feel better during a bad day. Making them also make you feel at ease."_

 _"Your grandmother? Shouyou-san's mother?"_

 _"No, no. My real grandmother. I'm adopted remember?" He said that matter-of-factly, without a trace of sadness in his voice or face and it unnerved her a little. It also reminded her that the Yoshida siblings were not related by blood, that they were all adopted by Shouyou. They must had had their own real family prior to this._

 _"Were you sad when your grandmother died?" she found herself asking him. She didn't know why she's asking an elementary school boy but he seemed to be much more mature than his age._

 _He nodded. "I was. And still am."_

 _Ikumatsu blinked, debating whether she should ask further. "Do you miss her?"_

 _Kotarou was silent for a while, his face betrayed no emotion. "I do, sometimes. But life goes on and I've found a new family now._ _But_ _it's not like I'm replacing her and my blood family with my current family. They will always stay in my heart and I cherish my memories with them. But I don't want to dwell on the past because I also want to cherish what I have right now. Grandmother and my parent are equally important to my current father and siblings. But they're already dead, and Dad and my siblings are still around. Right now, I want to protect and take care of them so I won't lose them too."_

 _She couldn't believe such wise thoughts were coming from such a young boy. She realized that he had gone through a lot. Might be more than she could imagine. But he still endured it all with his head held high. She felt tensions left her body slowly as she stared at the younger boy in admiration. He was still extending the rice ball to her_ _._

 _"So? Do you still want it?" Kotarou blinked as if an idea struck him. "It's not poisoned_ _if you're worried about that_ _. Should I eat it to prove that to you? The filling is tuna. Or do you prefer beef or chicken? I personally love tuna. But I also love chicken meat. But I can't really eat them every time I remember how cute they are. If you don't feel better after eating it, we can make it. Grandmother always said that eating or making good food make us feel at ease. Maybe that's why housewives always have that graceful serenity to them. I always find that charming. But widows are good too."_

 _For some reason, his rambling began to change topic. She didn't know what posses her. She couldn't help it as she watched him. She laughed._

 _Kotarou stopped his rambling to see the older girl laughing out loud while putting her hands on her stomach. Tears came out of her eyes, this time out of joy. Ikumatsu felt so great. It felt like a long time since she laughed. Not even her father could make her smile since Daigo's death. Yet, she found herself laughing thanks to the most unlikely person. She wiped the tears from her eyes and controlled her laughter until it stopped. "You're weird" she said, finally, but there was a hint of fondness there. She let out a long sigh. "Thank you."_

 _Kotarou smiled at her. "You're welcome. Do you still want the rice ball?"_

 _She smiled and took the rice ball from his hand. Well, since he offered, it would be rude to refuse. She took a bite and suddenly, happiness surged from her tongue to her whole body. "It's really good."_

 _"You like it?" She nodded. "Thank goodness." He smiled, and there's a genuine relief and happiness there that it warmed her heart._

 _"Who made this?"_

 _"I made it myself."_

 _"I don't know_ _that_ _you're good in cooking, Kotarou-kun."_

 _"You never asked" he said simply. She sweatdropped._

 _After she finished eating, they stood up at the same time. She realized she was still taller than him. Which was to be expected since she was in middle school and he was still in elementary school. But she had a feeling he would soon grow taller than her._

 _"Do you... feel better?" he asked._

 _She smiled. "Yes. Thanks to you." He smiled and his eyes shone with genuine and childlike happiness. She felt herself blushing a little. Why was she blushing? This was an elementary school boy dam_ _n_ _it!_

 _But as they walked back to her house (to tell her father and the servants that she was fine), she found herself mulling it over. Deep down inside, she knew that he wouldn't be a child forever. As she watched him walking in front of her, she thought she could wait for a few more years. God knew that Daigo would want her to move on and not dwell on the past._

 _End of Flashback_

* * *

Tsukuyo smiled as she watched Kotarou and Ikumatsu walking together. "It ends well I guess," she heard a voice said. She turned around to look at her boyfriend, who was watching the same scene with a satisfied smile on his face.

"Yes," she replied, nodding.

Gintoki felt his phone vibrating in his pocket. He pulled it out to read a message from Shinsuke.

 _Nobume and I are gonna look around. Do your mission without us._

"What the hell!"

"What is it?" Tsukuyo asked.

Gintoki pouted. "Shinsuke and Nobume ditched us. He said we should continue this mission without them since they want to look around."

"Well, do you want to continue spying on them?"

Gintoki watched Kotarou and Ikumatsu again and shook his head. "Nah. I think they'll be fine now. We also don't know where Oboro-nii-san and Tetsuko-san go. For all we know, they may go to some pprivate booth, playing more exciting adult games-"

"GINTOKI!" Tsukuyo shrieked her face beet red.

"What? They're 20 now. They're legally of age to do that kind of things" he said nonchalantly. Tsukuyo sighed.

"So? What do you want to do then?"

"What do you have in mind?"

"Want to have lunch before we go home?" Tsukuyo offered.

"Sure but, I want to buy something in the studio first."

"Don't tell me you really want to buy that pencil box."

"It's in the shape of milk cartoon!" he defended, blushing a little. She giggled.

"Buy one more for Seita please."

"You got it," he replied as he walked back inside the studio.

Tsukuyo smiled fondly at him. She stood outside the studio, leaning against a post there, waiting for him. She suddenly felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around and felt like seeing into mirror when she saw a face identical to hers, only without the scars on the face.

"Tsukuyo-san! It's nice to see you here!" the girl said, smiling

Tsukuyo blinked in surprise as she realized who it was. "Asaemon-san! It's nice to see you too. What are you doing here?"

"I'm here with my friends. What about you?"

"I'm here with my boyfriend. Where are your friends?"

"They're in the photo booth. I just came back from the public restroom. They're waiting for me there."

Tsukuyo smiled. "It's really nice to see you. I want to visit the shrine again but I couldn't find the time."

"It's alright. Our school's going to have joint festival after all. We can meet there."

"Yes. I heard it's going to be held in our school. Are you part of the organizers?"

"Yes. I'm only helping around actually, since I was the previous student council president."

Tsukuyo widened her eyes. "You were? So was I last year."

Asaemon blinked in surprise. "Really? You're a student council president too?"

"Yeah." Both girls smiled at each other. They found yet another thing they had in common. For some reason, it made them happy.

"I have to go. My friends are waiting for me. Let's talk with each other soon" Asaemon said.

"I'd like that. I'll visit the shrine when I have the time" Tsukuyo replied. They waved at each other as Asaemon walked away. A few seconds later, she heard a step behind her. She turned to see Gintoki standing there, with a paper bag in his hand. "Oh, Gintoki. You bought them? Let's go have some lunch then."

But Gintoki is not looking at her. He was looking ahead, his eyes wide with shock, mouth gapping. It's been so long since Tsukuyo saw such expression on his face. She remembered that the last time he had that expression was when they first met. She followed his line of vision and saw that he's staring at Asaemon.

"Gintoki, what-"

Suddenly, Gintoki dropped the paper bag in his hand and ran forward toward the girl. Asaemon heard footsteps behind her and glanced back to see a shock of silver hair. Gintoki put his hands on her shoulders and turned her around to face him.

"ASAEMON!"

Hearing him suddenly cry out her name made her cringe. He shook her shoulders slightly and looked at her with so much intensity in his eyes which caused her to hold her breath. "This... It's you! It's really you, isn't it?! You're still alive! All this time you're still alive! Why didn't you tell me?! You-"

He didn't finish his sentence and instead, pulled her into a hug. The action surprised Asaemon and sent electrical feelings through her body. She didn't know who this guy was, but he looked and felt familiar. His smell and the warmth of his body made her dizzy. Her mind was reeling. Something flickered in her mind's eye. She couldn't make out exactly what it was. She subconsciously leaned toward him and almost hugged him back, before the realization that she didn't know him hit her. She pushed him away.

"Who are you?! How do you know my name?!"

"What the- you don't know me?!" he asked in confusion.

"No I don't."

At first, Gintoki thought she was lying, but after seeing the genuine confusion on her face, he realized she was telling the truth.

"You mean... you really don't know me?"

"No!" She backed away from him a little. Being near him made her feel strange feelings inside her. "Look, I don't know who you are, but you can't just hug a total stranger out of nowhere. I think you mistook me for someone else so I'll forgive you for that." She turned away. "I'm sorry but I have to go."

Asaemon walked hurriedly away from him. She could still feel his stare boring a hole on her back.

Gintoki watched her go with a mixture of confusion and sadness. _Have I really mistaken?_

"Gintoki?" He heard a soft voice calling his name. He turned to look at his girlfriend, looking worriedly at him, carrying the paper bag he had dropped just now.

"Tsukuyo..." he said her name uncertainly, still in a daze.

"Are you okay?"

"I-I'm fine." He took the paper bag from her, looking anywhere but her eyes.

"What happened just now?" Tsukuyo asked him. Not in accusation but more in curiosity. She had watched what happened, though she couldn't hear what they said to each other. Gintoki ran to Asaemon and suddenly hugged her. She felt a burning feeling in her heart when she saw that. But she soon realized that Gintoki seemed to mistake Asaemon for someone else. She remembered what he said when they first met. _You just look a lot like someone I knew._

Well, Asaemon did look like her. Did he mistake Asaemon for that person too?

"Nothing. I just mistook her for someone I know" he replied, confirming her suspicion.

"Ah... I see..." Suddenly, an uncomfortable silence fell on them. Not only because of what Tsukuyo saw between Gintoki and Asaemon but because of the knowledge there.

"Um... Tsukuyo... I don't feel like eating lunch anymore... Can we just... go home?" Gintoki said avoiding her eyes.

Tsukuyo looked at him and smiled weakly. "Yes... of course..."

That was the end of their conversation about that matter. During their way home, they talked about small topics and trivial things but nothing more was said. Their minds were still thinking about what just happened.

They were not the only ones. That afternoon, another blonde girl, was sitting at the stairs of a shrine, thinking back to what happened during her visit to amusement park with her friends.

* * *

That night, three people couldn't sleep well. Their minds were full of different thoughts.

A girl with ash blonde hair and a horizontal scar on her neck was looking up at the ceiling of her room as she lay on her futon. _Who is that guy? He looked and felt so familiar. When he hugged me back then... It seemed to jog something in my memory. Why did I feel so warm and comfortable when he hugged me although he was a stranger? Why do I feel so sad and happy at the same time?_

A young man with curly silver hair was leaning on the balcony of his room as he gazed at the night sky. _Did I really mistake her? She looked and felt just like her. And she had the same name! But she didn't seem to remember me. What the hell is going on?!_

A girl with golden blonde hair and stitched scars on her left cheek and forehead was sitting on her bed, hugging her bolster. _What happened back then? Is there something between Gintoki and Asaemon-san? But what is it? Gintoki wouldn't leave me for another girl, I know that. Then why am I so troubled by it?_


	12. The feelings triggered after

**I'm sorry it took so long for me to update. So I'm trying to update two chapters now, for you people who still cheer for me, and still eagerly reading this fanfic.**

 _She was standing near the gate with her father when it was opened slowly by the guards. She watched, puzzled, as the gate rarely opened except when people were heading out or coming back from a mission._

 _"_ _The master has returned," her father whispered in her ear. She nodded in understanding. The master had come back from his visit to the laboratory for whatever reason. He usually only went there to hand his catch. But he had been visiting the laboratory more frequent lately, almost like there's something drawing him there. She didn't know why since the Master was responsible for the armed section. He was in charge for the killing, abducting and wiping out all the evidence, so he had little to do with the experiments._

 _"_ _I heard that he brought back another child," her father said, turning to look at her. "One that is around your age."_

 _"_ _Again?" she asked. The master had brought back a child before this, a boy with white hair and a scar on his face._

 _"_ _I think he felt sorry for this one. This one is too hard for them to handle so they are thinking of throwing him away. So the Master decided to take him under his wing." She nodded at her father's explanation, thought in her opinion, between being a test subject or an assassin, there was no better option. She was not part of the hunting team, though being an executioner was not exactly a better job either. "You two are around the same age. Maybe you two can be friends" her father added._

 _"_ _Maybe," she replied._

 _The gate was opened completely, revealing a long-haired man in his twenties, holding the hand of a small boy with messy silver hair. The pair walked toward them and her eyes met the boy's eyes for a brief seconds. There was emptiness there, but there was also knowledge and acceptance. She knew that he knew what it all meant for him. He knew what kind of life was waiting for him. He looked so sad and empty and she sympathized with him._

* * *

Asaemon opened her eyes and blinked. She felt something wet on her face. Putting a hand on her face, she realized it was tears. She was crying? She sat up on her futon and wiped away the tears from her eyes and face. _Why am I crying? Ever since yesterday... ever since I met that person, I feel so many different emotions. It's like the meeting with him triggered something within me._

Deciding not to think about it for now, Asaemon got up and walked out of her room toward the bathroom to take a shower. It was her turn to cook today. She would cook the rice while Mone would cook the dish. Unlike the modern house that lined up the street, their home was a traditional Japanese house. They still used traditional stove with firewood so it took time to cook. After taking a bath, she walked into the kitchen and saw one of her sisters already there.

"Good morning Mone-nee-san."

A beautiful woman with long brown hair and pale complexion turned to smile at her. "Good morning Asa-chan."

They worked in tandem to prepare breakfast. "I'll put all of these at the table. Please feed Komako" Mone said. Asaemon nodded. She pulled a box of dog food from the cupboard and walked out of the door. She stood in front of a small dog house and knocked on the wood.

"Komako-chan, wake up~ It's time for breakfast." A small white puppy walked out of the dog house. She opened her snout and yawned, tongue curling. Asaemon giggled and poured the dog food into a small bowl there. The puppy walked toward the bowl and munched the food offered for her quietly.

Asaemon walked back into the house. When she arrived at the dining room, her other sister had already there. "Good morning Ane-nee-san."

"Morning" another pretty woman with long black hair greeted back, yawning. The three sisters sat down to eat their breakfast. "This fish is a little burnt, don't you think?" Ane commented

"Then maybe you should cook your own breakfast next time," Mone replied.

"I can't help it. I'm busy working. I don't have time for housework."

"Working? Asa-chan and I do most of the work here. We're the one taking care of this shrine."

"I'm busy working out there doing my own job!"

"Right. By wearing pink frilly uniform and serve otakus."

"I don't have a choice on that matter! People rarely come to the shrine and we need money! So I decide to work at maid cafe!"

Asaemon watched the same arguments her sisters had every day. She giggled silently. At first, she had been worried when the two fought like this, but overtime, she started to find it amusing. Ane and Mone looked over to her and smiled.

"You finally smile again," Mone said.

"Eh?" Asaemon asked in confusion.

"Well, Asa-chan has been feeling down since yesterday. You spaced out a lot and seemed to be a bit absentminded."

"You went out to have fun with your friends at amusement park, yet you came home with a troubled face." Ane sighed then gave Asaemon a motherly smile. "What happened?"

Asaemon was silent for a while. She slowly put down her chopsticks and looked down on her lap. "Well... there was this guy-"

"Oh! So it was that kind of problem," Ane said, nodding in understanding. "Rest assured. Nee-san knows how to handle this kind of thing. I have a lot of experience."

"Yes, since she is pretty promiscuous for a shrine maiden," Mone commented.

"What was that?!"

Asaemon blushed. "No. I-it's not that kind of problem... Anyway..." She cleared her throat. "This guy... he suddenly called my name and looked at me, shocked. He said he didn't know I was still alive. And then he suddenly... hugged me..." Ane and Mone was quiet. "I pushed him away on reflex, since you know, I didn't know him. But after that... I don't know... There are so many different emotions coming out of me. I felt sad, happy, pained, relieved... and... well... I guess I was just confused."

For a few long seconds the room was quiet, until Mone said "Asa-chan... Could this person be someone from your past?"

"Eh?" She looked up in surprise.

Ane nodded. "Yes. He seemed to know you and meeting him seemed to jog your memory. Right? Are you starting to remember something?"

Asaemon shook her head. "Not exactly. Well, something flickered in my mind when he hugged me but when I tried to discern it, I felt dizzy. It's more that the meeting with him brought out so many strong feelings inside of me."

"I think this guy, whoever he is, is the key to your past," Ane said. "Why did you push him away? You could've asked him about it. He might have a clue."

"Well, how do you feel when a stranger suddenly hugs you? I felt disoriented. I was doing things on reflex so I pushed him away and quickly left him after that. And besides..." _He was my friend's boyfriend and he was hugging me right in front of her. That was a bit inappropriate._ She sighed. She pictured his face in her mind again. The way he looked at her with such intense eyes still made her stomach churn. Something flickered in her mind again and she saw a flash of silver. She tried to grasp it and felt another headache coming.

"Don't push yourself," Mone said, putting her hand on her younger sister's hand. "The doctor said it will come out when the time is right. Just let it flow."

Asaemon nodded. She massaged her forehead to ease the headache. She found herself thinking about that guy all the time ever since yesterday. She wondered if she would meet him again.

* * *

"Tsukuyo-san," Kotarou called her as he walked toward her desk. Tsukuyo looked up from her bag when he approached her. "Today, there'll be a meeting for the organizers of the festival in the student council office after school," Kotarou informed her. Despite not being a member of student council anymore, Tsukuyo was still asked to be part of the organizing team. It seemed that Kotarou was asked as well.

Tsukuyo nodded. "Alright. Thank you Kotarou-kun."

"Also, here" he said, handing her a piece of paper. She took it and glanced at it in confusion. "Gintoki told me that you still haven't decided on what major you will choose and where you will go after graduating from here. This is the list of our university's majors and the names of institutions that we have cooperation with, in case you decide not to continue to Gintama University."

Tsukuyo was surprised but smile nonetheless. "Thank you, Kotarou-kun."

"You're welcome. Well I have to go to the teachers' office. Class President's duty."

"Alright. See you at the meeting."

As Kotarou left, Tae, Ayame and Kyuubei approached her. "Tsukuyo, want to eat lunch together?" Ayame asked.

"We will go eat lunch at the front yard if you want to join us." Kyuubei blinked. "Or are you going to eat lunch with Gintoki?"

"Oh that's right! You usually eat together," Ayame said.

Tsukuyo thought about it. It's true that she usually ate with Gintoki. But after what happened yesterday, she felt a little awkward around him. She felt like avoiding him for a while. "Actually, I think I'll eat lunch with you guys today."

Tae blinked in surprise and then raised her eyebrows. "You two are not fighting, aren't you?"

"Oh no, we're not. Don't worry. It's just that it's been so long since I spent time with you guys and I kind of miss that. Besides, I eat with him plenty of times already."

Tae nodded, though she still looked worried. "Okay then."

Tsukuyo pulled her lunchbox from her bag and the four girls walked out of the classroom together. "Tsukuyo!" Deg! Tsukuyo stopped abruptly when Gintoki called her in the hallway. Tae, Ayame and Kyuubei noticed it.

"You guys go ahead. I'll catch up with you" she told them with reassuring smile. They nodded and continued walking toward the school yard. When they were gone, she turned around to face him. "Hi" Tsukuyo said when Gintoki walked toward her. "What is it?"

"Um, I think I can't eat lunch with you today. I promised to hang out with Kyoujirou."

"Who?"

"Nakamura Kyoujirou. He's my new friend" he said, pointing his thumb at a guy with shoulder-length black hair and a vertical scar above his left eyelid.

"I've never seen him before."

"He just transferred this semester."

"Oh," she nodded. Gintama school did have a lot of students transferring at strange times. She sometimes wondered why.

"Is that okay?" Gintoki asked.

Tsukuyo nodded. "That's fine. I was planning to eat with Tae and the others anyway. Oh, I almost forgot. I have a meeting for the festival organizers today so you don't have to wait for me."

Gintoki nodded. "Okay." They averted each other's eyes. They still felt a little awkward since yesterday. "Um... anyway... well... see you later." He beckoned for Kyoujirou to follow him. Gintoki walked pass Tsukuyo and she felt his hand grazed her head, finger running through her hair. She blushed a little and smiled. She knew it was his own little way to try to break the tension between them.

Kyoujirou walked pass her to follow Gintoki and gave her a nod. She nodded back at him. But her eyes suddenly widened at the sight of something. On his neck, she saw a burgundy-colored tatto in the shape of a bird. The same design as Gintoki's and his siblings'.

Tsukuyo blinked in surprise. Tattoos seemed to be common among young people these days. Maybe Kyoujirou got the tattoo from the same place the Yoshida siblings got it. Deciding not to think too much about it, she shook her head and continued her walk to catch up with her friends.

* * *

"How's your first week at school?"

"I think it's quite good. I never exactly went to school before so I'm a little confused with the procedure. But I'll try to adjust."

"You'll get used to it. I'm sure you'll have many friends in no time. I'll be there if you need help."

"Thank you Gintoki-sama."

"Hey, stop calling me that. We're supposed to be classmate, remember? You don't call your classmates with –sama. Just call me Gintoki."

"Alright then." Kyoujirou smiled. "This is a new experience for me. When we talk with each other or with the others in the class, I feel something warm inside my chest."

Gintoki smiled. "That's how I felt as well. Though I didn't really have a lot of friends until recently."

Kyoujirou blinked. "You didn't? But you seem to know a lot of people."

"I'm acquainted with many people, but a few of them are really close to me. For one thing, I'm only really close to those who know."

"Ah, I see. What about her?"

"Her?"

"Your girlfriend who we met just now. Does she know?"

Gintoki stopped eating. He munched his food slowly before swallowing it down. "No."

"You didn't tell her?"

"I can't find the time and the right circumstance to say it. I think I'll tell her when it's over."

Kyoujirou nodded. The two of them continued eating in silence when they heard the door to the roof being opened.

"We thought you'd be here," Shinsuke said, walking in with Kotarou and Tatsuma.

"Yo" Gintoki greeted them, raising two fingers above his head in salute. "Aren't you supposed to be in the teachers' office, class president?" he said to Kotarou.

"I'm done with my duty and now, I want to eat my bento. You don't mind me, Shinsuke and Tatsum joining you two?"

"Like I have a choice since you're already here."

"AHAHAH, that's mean Kintoki."

"That's not my name you idiot! We've been friends for years and you still can't get my name right?!"

"AHAHAH!"

"So do you mind?" Kotarou asked.

"Of course not, Kotarou-sama."

"When we're at school, you can just call me Kotarou, Kyoujirou-kun."

"Or you can just drop the –sama all together," Shinsuke added, sitting down beside Gintoki. "Don't need to address us so formally."

"Oh... alright."

Shinsuke and Kotarou glanced at Tatsuma and they seemed to exchange a silent message to each other.

"AHAHAH! Kyoujirou-kun, I need help in my math homework! Can you help me?! Oh, that is, if you've finished eating."

"That's alright. I'm already finished."

"Good! Let's go!" Tatsuma linked his arm with Kyoujirou. "Well Kintoki, I'll borrow your friend for a while okay?! See you at class!" He already went out the door, dragging Kyoujirou with him, before Gintoki could correct him, resounding laughter echoing in the hallway.

Gintoki sighed and looked at his brothers. "So? What is it?" Shinsuke and Kotarou raised their eyebrows. "You're not actually coming here to eat lunch with me, right?" Shinsuke and Kotarou knew that Gintoki knew so they decided to ask straight out.

"What's wrong?" Kotarou asked.

"Huh? I'm the one asking that."

"What's wrong with you Gintoki? When we came back from the amusement park, you seemed troubled and disoriented."

"Did something happen after Nobume and I left?" Shinsuke asked.

Gintoki sighed and looked away from them. He tapped his fingers on his knees continuously. "I saw Asaemon."

That simple sentence had a great impact. Shinsuke and Kotarou's eyes widened, their pupils dilated, their mouth opened slightly, their bodies frozen in place. "What?" Kotarou breathed out.

"Are you sure?" Shinsuke said, frowning deeply.

"Actually... no, I'm not... She had the same face and the same name... But she didn't seem to recognize me." Gintoki bit his lower lip. "But she looked just like her. And her presence felt like hers too. I... I think it's too strange to be a coincidence."

Shinsuke looked down while Kotarou looked at Gintoki with pained eyes. "Gintoki... don't you think-"

"Don't start lecturing me about that."

"Gintoki... Maybe you should think it over again. It might be just someone who looks like her. I know you still felt guilty. We all do, but-"

"Kotarou-"

"Don't let that cloud your judgment. You have to let it go eventually."

"Stop that. I know that I-"

"You have to let it go, Gintoki. You have to let her go."


	13. Emotions transcend time

_A boy was sitting on the floor of a dark room, arms hugging his knees, looking out the small window high on the wall. The only light in the room was from the moon light, coming through the metal bars of the rectangular hole. He was so preoccupied in watching the sky that he didn't notice someone sneaking up on him. He felt a soft tap on his left shoulder. Startled, he jumped into standing position. He turned and saw a young girl about the same age as him, grinning mischievously at him. He frowned._

 _"Don't surprise me like that!"_

 _She giggled. "Sorry." He sat back down and she followed, sitting beside him._

 _"Why are you here anyway?" he asked._

 _"I heard you've come back from your mission so I went to search for you. What, you don't want me here?"_

 _"Not really... just... want to be alone for a while." He resumed his earlier activity, observing the sky through the small window. She blinked as she watched him. He looked thoughtful. Well, he often looked thoughtful but even more so lately. He didn't pay much attention to what she said when they were together, and he daydreamed a lot. Maybe he really didn't want to be disturbed right now._

 _"If you want to be alone, then I'll go," she said, standing up. But before she took a step, she felt a hand grabbed hers._

 _He sighed. "You're already here anyway so you might just stay here and accompany me."_

 _She smiled and sat back down. She looked out the window at the large moon. She knew why he loved this room so much. This was one of the places which had the window to the world up there. They're able to see the sky from here, which was a luxury considering that they lived underground and were only let out during a mission, and even then, they were watched. When she couldn't find him anywhere, she knew he'd be here, watching out the window at the sky._

 _"How's your mission?" she asked._

 _"Fine... It went smoothly... except I'm afraid, I left behind a witness."_

 _She furrowed her eyebrows in concern. "There was a witness?"_

 _"Yeah," he replied, fidgeting a little. "_ _A girl about the same age as us._ _I thought she was unconscious, but I had a strange feeling that she recognized her surroundings. And she saw me when I fought my target. But I think she didn't remember my face."_

 _She let out a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness."_

 _"Yeah. Otherwise, I have to kill her." He bit his lower lip. "And I really don't want to do that."_

 _She raised one eyebrow in question. "Why? You usually have no problem doing it."_ _He turned to scrutinize her face. He stared at her for a few seconds that it started to make her feel self-conscious._ _"Wh-what?"_

 _"She kind of looked like you."_

 _She blinked in surprise and pointed to herself. "Like me?_ _That person you're talking about?_ _"_

 _He nodded. "Yeah._ _That's why I can't do any harm to her._ _And besides, she already suffered enough as it is. I feel so sorry for her that I really don't want_ _to_ _kill her. That bastard already damaged her pretty face."_

 _She nodded and looked down sadly. "Poor girl," she said, voice brimming with_ _genuine_ _empathy. She didn't know the girl, but for some reason, she could feel the sympathy that he felt for that person who looked like her. After a moment, she realized something from what he said_ _and_ _smiled slowly at him. "You think I'm pretty?"_

 _"Hey, I said she was pretty, not you."_

 _"But you said she looked like me, so in a way, you admit that my face is pretty."_

 _"I... you... Argh!" He flushed deep red and buried his face on his knees. She giggled at his reaction. He was so cute when he was embarrassed. She put her head on his shoulder, ignoring all the protests that might come._

 _"But you know... I kind of envy her." He looked at her in confusion, cheeks still pink. "Not for having her face damaged," she explained. "But for being out there, free to go wherever she wants." She stared wistfully at the moon. "Something that we're not."_

 _His eyes turned wistful as well as he looked back out the window. A small bird appeared in their line of vision. It perched on the window sill, blocking their view of the moon. As if knowing that it disturbed their view, it flew away. Even a bird was more free than them._

 _"You know," he started. His hand reached out to grab hers and she lifted her head a little to glance at him."Father has been planning something. We don't know what it is, but it might have something to do with getting out of here," he said in a whisper._

 _She opened her mouth and widened her eyes. "For real?" she said in a whisper._

 _"No more than a plan though. It's still far away. We don't know whether we really CAN get out."_

 _She nodded sadly._

 _"But," he said, squeezing her hand. They turned their heads to look at each other. Both of their faces were a little pink with blush. "When we really do get out of here, I'll take you with me."_

 _She smiled at him, still blushing. "Promise?"_

 _"Promise."_

* * *

Asaemon had just gone home from school. She quickly went to change into her Hakama, her usual garb in the temple. There was only her and Mone in the house. Ane had gone to work.

"Asa-chan? Can you sweep the front steps? I need to prepare the charms" Mone said.

"Sure, Nee-san."

Asaemon took the broom and walked out of the house. Their pet dog, Komako, followed her. The puppy jumped around beside her, making her giggle in amusement. She went toward the stairs that connected the shrine and the street below, and started sweeping from the top. She hoped there would be no visitor today. Komako was not exactly nice to other people other than her and her sisters. Her mind once again wandered to the guy she had met before. She couldn't stop thinking about him. Ever since they met, he would pop into her mind often. She tried not to think too much about him. She reasoned that she thought about him all the time because he triggered something in her memory. But lately, her heart was pounding like crazy in her chest whenever he popped into her mind and she felt warm all over her body whenever she remembered the feel of his hug and his intense eyes.

It couldn't be it, could it?

She shook her head. _No_ _it can't be! It shouldn't be! He's Tsukuyo-san's boyfriend! I shouldn't think of someone else's lover like that!_

Asaemon sighed and continued to sweep down the stairs. Then again, there was that joint cultural festival between her school and theirs. The cultural festival which was organized by Gintama High School and her school required all the students to participate. No matter how much she didn't want to see Tsukuyo and that guy, she would, eventually.

"At least I won't meet them anytime soon."

She continued her sweeping; there was only six steps left, when Komako suddenly barked and ran down the stairs. _Oh no! Is there a visitor?_

"Komako! Don't! Come back here! Don't bite that person!"

Asaemon chased Komako, running down the stairs and toward the street. But instead of seeing someone crying out loud from the puppy's bite, or seeing the puppy chase someone, she was greeted with a rare sight. Komako was wagging her tail, eyes sparkling and tongue hanging, as she looked up at the person in front of her. The person with a head of silver was crouching and petting the small puppy's head. He looked up to look at Asaemon and her eyes met with blood red eyes. For what felt like forever, neither of them talked as they stared at each other.

"Uh... Is this little girl yours?"

* * *

Gintoki was walking home from school alone that day because Tsukuyo was having a meeting for the joint festival. They hadn't been able to spend much time together lately, other than the occasional aikido practices they did after school. And it was hardly considered a quality time because Shinpachi was there as well. She was busy with the organizing team and he was busy with kendo and... other stuff. They're not in the same class anymore so they saw each other less often. There was still that awkwardness that came after what happened the other day. Gintoki knew he shouldn't do that in front of his girlfriend but he was reacting on impulse, when he saw that girl...

 _Forget about her Gintoki! She's gone..._

Gintoki shook his head as he heard Kotarou and Shinsuke's voice echoing in his mind. Yes, he should forget about her. She was in the past, and he's the type of person who lived in the present. He had Tsukuyo now. He couldn't be thinking about _her_.

Suddenly, he heard a loud bark. He looked around him, searching for the source of the sound, and then something small bumped into his knees. He looked down to see a small puppy looking up at him. A white shiba inu. Just like Kagura's dog, Sadaharu. Except this one was a female. Don't ask him how he knew that. He just did.

"Hey there girl." He smiled and crouched down to pet the puppy.

"Komako! Don't! Come back here! Don't bite that person!"

He was startled a little when he heard a yell. He looked up to see a girl with blonde hair and amethyst eyes, wearing a Hakama and holding a broom in her hands. For a split second, he thought he was seeing Tsukuyo, until he realized the girl didn't have scars on her face an her hair was ash blonde instead of golden blonde. He widened his eyes...

 _Asaemon?_ he said in his mind.

The girl seemed to be just as surprised to see him. They suddenly fell silent. He struggled for something to say. His stoic expression hid his inner panic.

"Uh... Is this little girl yours?"

That seemed to snap her out. "Huh? I-I'm sorry, what?"

"This dog... Is she yours?"

"Oh, um... yes..."

They averted their eyes away from each other, feeling awkward in each other's presence. She then smiled down at him and he froze. That smile was just like _hers_...

"Komako is not usually nice to strangers. It's surprising that she can like someone other than me and my sisters."

"Oh..." he replied, not knowing what to say to that.

"Do you own a dog?"

"No, but my cousin does. I helped her raise it when it's still a pup, and it kind of sees me as a second owner, I guess. It's the same kind as this one."

She blinked in surprise. "Oh really?"

"Yes, a white shiba inu as well. Only that it's male."

Gintoki looked around him and realized that he was near the temple he had visited with Tsukuyo before. The girl was wearing Hakama so she must be the miko.

Asaemon, for her part, didn't know what to do. Just now, she forced herself not to think about this guy and suddenly, he appeared right in front of her. What should she do? Should she offer him to pray in their temple? No, she already decided to stay away from him. Or should she take Komako and leave him just like that? But wouldn't it be rude?

But Komako decided for her. She bite the hem of Gintoki's pants and pulled at his leg. The two looked down at the puppy in confusion, until they realized Komako was pulling him toward the temple. Gintoki and Asaemon looked at each other and laughed nervously.

"Uh... I think she wants me to visit the temple?" Gintoki had wanted to say it as a statement, but it came out more like a question.

"Y-yes, I guess." _Bad timing Komako! Bad timing!_ "Wi... will you visit our temple? Uh, but maybe you have visited before, with Tsukuyo. She said she's coming with her boyfriend back then."

At the mention of Tsukuyo, they both turned quiet, her name acting like a barrier between them. Why did they have to feel that way? It's not like they were doing something... inappropriate for two people who were not committed to each other. They just met accidentally. And he's only going to visit the temple. Gintoki himself did not know whether he should come or not. Tsukuyo was back at school, attending a meeting. Even just visiting a temple where Asaemon was felt like he was cheating on her. He shook his head and looked at the girl once again. No, he had to come. He had to know more about this girl. To know whether she was _her_ or not. At least for his peace of mind.

"Okay then," he said nodding.

Asaemon on her part, did not prepare for it. "Oh-um, alright... This way... Oh wait, you already know the way. N-never mind." She walked ahead of him toward the shrine, hiding her embarrassment.

When Gintoki walked toward the stairs, Komako let go of his pants' leg. He followed her up the stairs. They arrived at the top of the stairs and walked pass the torri.

"It's not that big or fancy," she said humbly.

"No I think this is nice," he said. And it was. The place was small compared to other temples but it was clean, and it had that peaceful feeling to it which people could always find in a place of worship. He noticed a small house behind the shrine. "Do you live here?"

"Yes. My sisters and I manage this place. But we don't have enough money since people rarely visit the shrine these days, so my oldest sister is working part time in a maid cafe." She clamped her hand on her mouth when she realized she had said too much. She didn't mean to blurt it out. She didn't know why but she felt she could trust him that she let her guard down and just said what she wanted to say.

He laughed at that remark, but not unkindly or mockingly. It sounded more lighthearted and full of amusement. "A shrine maiden working in a maid cafe?" he questioned with amused tone.

"I know. Strange and embarrassing isn't it?" She sighed.

"Strange? Trust me, I've seen and known people who are way more strange and embarrassing than that. My oldest brother is a clean freak that if he sees even a small unclean spot in someone else's house, he can't keep himself from cleaning it. My other brother owns a penguin for a pet. The other brother is obsessed with his height that he drinks yakult like people drink milk every day, thinking it'll make him taller. And my younger sister eat three boxes of donuts every day and read S&M magazines. My Dad... well, I don't want to talk about it."

She was left speechless after hearing all the things he said. His family sure was weird. "You... have quite a family..."

He nodded with a serious face. "Yeah, many people say so."

After a second of silence, they both bursted out laughing. For some reason, she felt so comfortable around him. She felt like she could trust him. Like she had known him for a long time.

Gintoki looked at the rack where the charms were usually displayed. "So, um... where's the charm?"

"Oh, my sister is preparing them right now. If you want to buy one, you have to wait for a while."

He nodded. "Okay."

After that, silence came once again along with awkwardness. Both of them struggled to search for what to say. In actuality, Gintoki didn't really care about charms. She was the only reason he was here. He wanted to investigate her. He wanted to know more about her. He observed her from the corner of his eyes, and something caught his attention. A horizontal scar along her neck. He widened his eyes.

"So..." she started, snapping him out of his thoughts. "What's your name? I mean, if you don't mind me asking," she said, flustered.

He blinked, processing what she said. He realized that he hadn't told her his name before. "Oh... my name is Gintoki."

"Gintoki..." Asaemon whispered under hear breath. Something flickered in her mind and she felt a shiver run down her spine at the sound of his name.

"Hey," he called, snapping her out of it. "Your name... it's really Asaemon?"

"Uh... yes?"

He scrutinized her face openly with narrow eyes, which made her feel self-conscious.

"Is there something on my face?"

"No."

"Then please stop doing that. It's rude to stare at people."

He blinked and the frown's gone from his face. "Sorry," he replied. "And... sorry for what happened... back then at the amusement park."

Asaemon could feel her face getting a bit warm and she looked down. "It's okay."

"You're right. I mistook you for someone else. It must be weird, having a stranger suddenly come at you and hug you."

She still looked down, refusing to meet his eyes, until she heard footsteps coming near her. She looked up and was surprised to see Gintoki's face only a few centimeters away from hers. Before she could step back and widened the space between them, he reached out his hand and caressed the scar on her neck. She stopped breathing as if his hand was strangling her neck, when in fact it only touched her scar with feathery touch. She gulped and he could feel it under his fingers. She should punch him, push him, or at least back away, accuse him of sexual harassment. But she couldn't move. She couldn't breathe.

"Where did you get this scar?" he asked in a murmur. His voice sounded breathy and it only made her dizzy.

"I..." she stuttered, "I don't know."

He frowned. He opened his mouth to talk but before he could, the front door of the house was opened and a woman with long brown hair came out with a box full of charms.

"Here's the charms, Asa-chan! Have you finished swe-"

Mone stopped in the middle of her sentence when she saw her younger sister, standing only inches away from a handsome young man with silver hair, his hand on her neck. What a weird situation.

"Um..."

Gintoki and Asaemon stepped away from each other, flushing. "Wait! Mone-nee-san! It's not what you think!"

Mone looked at Asaemon, and then at Gintoki. She suddenly smiled. "Is he a visitor?"

"Yes! I'm... here to buy a charm," he answered quickly.

Mone looked at the flustered Asaemon and the fidgeting Gintoki. "I see. Are you two friends? Cause I saw you two standing so close to each other just now."

"No, not really. We just met each other twice. First in the nearby amusement park, and then today," Gintoki explained. He looked down at Komako, who was rubbing her head at his leg like a cat. "Your dog wouldn't let me go, so I decided to visit."

At the mention of amusement park, Mone realized that he was the guy Asaemon had talked about before. She looked at her younger sister and her expression confirmed it.

"It's so rare, for Komako to like someone other than us," Mone said, smiling. "You must be good person."

"Uh, I'm not so sure about that," Gintoki replied, scratching his head.

"What's your name?" she asked him.

Gintoki blinked in confusion but answered anyway. "Gintoki."

Mone smiled. "Well Gintoki-kun, would you like to come to our house and have some tea and dango?"

"Nee-san!" Asaemon looked at Mone in panic. She had an inkling of what her sister had in mind and she really didn't want to go through it. Mone glanced at her and gave her a subtle wink, which made her blush _. I knew it!_

"We can show a variety of charms while we eat some snacks. What do you think? That is, if you have time."

At the mention of dango, Gintoki's eyes sparkled. He really was weak when it came to sweets. He felt a tug on his leg and saw Komako tugging at the hem of his pants toward the house, as though encouraging him to take the offer. "I guess I have time to spend."

"Good then! I'll prepare the tea and the dango. Asaemon, take him to the house."

Asaemon blushed as her sister walked back into the house and left her with Gintoki. The two looked at each other and blinked. She sighed. "Well, if you're going to stay, then you might as well come in," she said, following her sister into the house. She heard Gintoki's footsteps following her and felt a smile rose to her lips. And she realized that even though she had decided not to be near him, she didn't want to part with him either.

* * *

Kotarou entered the family room of Yoshida mansion. He just got back from school, after the meeting for the joint festival. "I'm home!" he said out loud to the people in the room. Which was unnecessary as there was only three people there: Shinsuke, Nobume and Oboro.

"Welcome home," Oboro replied from his place by the balcony, a book on his lap. Nobume was reading a magazine and Shinsuke was strumming his guitar while occasionally writing at the music sheet on the table. This family room was where the members of Yoshida family usually gathered to spend time together or have family meeting. But right now, two people were not present.

Kotarou looked around the room. "Where are Dad and Gintoki?"

"Dad is in his study, talking to Hattori-san. Gintoki hasn't come home yet," Oboro replied.

Kotarou frowned in concern. "Don't worry. He called me a few minutes ago, saying that he was at a friend's house" Shinsuke said.

Kotarou blinked. "Tatsuma's?"

Shinsuke shook his head. "No. He didn't say which friend it was and hung up before I could ask. I called Tatsuma just to check, and he said Gintoki wasn't with him. I also texted the others like Hattori, Hijikata, Kondou, Sougo and Kamui. But he's not at theirs either."

Kotarou frowned deeper. "Where could he be then?"

"Relax. Gin-nii's strong. Stronger than any of us. He can defend himself when someone comes at him. And he won't lie to us regarding where he is. He knows we're worried about him so if something happens, he'll tell us," Nobume said, eyes still skimming the words on her magazine.

"Uh, isn't that because he knows we're worried that he'd lie to make us stop worrying?" Kotarou said, sitting beside her. He glanced at what she was reading so seriously. "'How to know whether he is the one for you'," he read out loud. Startled, Nobume quickly closed the magazine. "Isn't that fortune telling for girls?" Kotarou asked.

"S-so what?" Nobume said, stuttering.

"Since when do you start reading such a girly thing?" Kotarou asked. "Don't tell me... you have someone you like."

Nobume let out a squeak.

Oboro put down his book and turned his attention to his siblings. "You have someone you like?" he asked Nobume with a disapproving frown on his face.

Nobume grimaced at Kotarou and Oboro's questioning stare. She glanced at Shinsuke. He didn't look at her or show any emotion on his face, still busy strumming his guitar. But for some reason, the rhythm started to sound harder.

"So what if do? I'm a normal girl."

"What kind of guy he is?" Kotarou asked.

"Do we know him?" Oboro asked.

"Um... well..." Nobume glanced at Shinsuke, who was busy strumming his guitar, the tempo's getting faster and faster.

"What's with you guys? Why are you so concerned with whom I like?"

"Because you're our baby sister of course!" Kotarou exclaimed. "We need to make sure you're in the right hand!"

She sighed. "We're not even dating or anything. And I still don't know whether he likes me back or not."

Oboro crossed his arms and frowned. "Still, there is a possibility for you to end up in a relationship. I'm worried. If you want to be with a boy, then search for someone who is like one of the members of our family."

Nobume chocked on her own saliva and they suddenly heard a loud "twing" sound. The three of them turned to look at Shinsuke. One of his guitar strings was broken.

"Oh... I guess I strummed it too fast..." he said nonchalantly.

Before any of them could comment, the door was opened and their father entered. Shouyou looked around the room at his children. He frowned when he noticed one of them missing. "Where's Gintoki?"

"He's at a friend's house. But he said, he'd come home before dinner" Shinsuke answered.

Shouyou sighed. That boy really had no concern over his own safety.

"What's wrong, Dad?" Oboro asked. "What did Hattori-san say?"

"He said that he had the facility ready for us to take him there anytime we want."

The others perked up at this. "Do you think they found a way to stop the chip?" Nobume asked.

"The new one? Yes. Sadly not yet, for the old one."

The atmosphere in the room turned somber.

"So that means he will have to bear it for a while longer, huh" Oboro murmured.

"We need to get him to the facility right away then," Kotarou said.

Shinsuke clicked his tongue. "The question is whether he wants to go or not."


	14. Another Encounter with Sharon

**Sorry it takes so long for the update. I was busy finishing my final paper and I'm really happy that I finally graduate** **from** **college this year. Now that I'm free, I finally have time to write fanfiction. Please read and review.**

School was finally over and Tsukuyo got up and was out the door before everyone else. She had a date with Gintoki after school in a nearby cafe. She was busy these days with the preparation for the festival. Though she's technically not a member of student council anymore, the current members still asked her advice and included her in things. She hardly spent time with Gintoki these days as he seemed to spend more time with the new student Kyoujirou, and she with Tae, Ayame and Kyuubei. They still practised aikido with Shinpachi three times in a week. She was pleased that she had learned it quite fast. She was also improving with kyudo. Even Gintoki was amazed. He considered teaching her other kinds of martial arts other than aikido and kyudo and she was ready for it. However, they wouldn't be practicing today. They would finally have quality time together after weeks.

"Tsukki, wait!" Tsukuyo stopped walking and turned around to see Ayame running to catch up to her. "Are you going to Gin-san's class?"

"Yeah."

"I'll go with you. I want to see Zenzou too."

"Sure, let's go together."

Tsukuyo and Ayame walked towards Gintoki's class and peered into the room. There, they saw Gintoki and Zenzou conversing with each other. Tsukuyo noted that Gintoki looked displeased.

Ayame frowned. "Are they fighting?"

"I don't think so. But they sure do look like they're having an argument."

Zenzou was moving his hands in a particular way that looks like he was trying to persuade Gintoki about something. Meanwhile, Gintoki frowned deeper and shook his head. They talked some more, before grabbing their bags and walked toward the door.

"Zenzou! Gin-san!" Zenzou and Gintoki looked toward their direction.

"What are you doing here?" Zenzou asked Ayame.

"What? You're supposed to walk me to the salon, remember? Otherwise, my Mom will be angry at your Dad and your Dad will be angry at you."

Zenzou sighed. "Fine, let's go." He turned to Gintoki. "Remember what I said, Gintoki. This is for your own good. Well, it's not that I care what happen to you or anything. I'm just passing you my Dad's message."

Gintoki snorted. "Yeah, yeah I know. Just go" he said, flapping his hand in a shooing motion.

"See you tomorrow Tsukuyo, Gin-san!" Ayame said as she walked away with Zenzou, waving at them. Tsukuyo smiled at her friend and waved back. She turned her attention to her boyfriend when she heard his sigh.

"Ready to go?"

"Yeah," Gintoki responded, unenthusiastically.

As they walked out of the school together toward the cafe, Tsukuyo decided to ask, "What was that about with Hattori?"

Gintoki glanced at her. "Nothing. Just... his father wants to... check up on me."

"Check up on you?" Tsukuyo said, blinking in confusion. She knew that Hattori family was a famous family of scientist. Most of the members are doctors and researchers. "What's wrong? Are you sick?" she asked him worriedly.

"No, it's not... exactly like that..." Gintoki scratched the back of his neck and he looked visibly uncomfortable so she decided to drop the subject for now.

"Anyway, what are you doing these past few days? I haven't seen you around much, excluding our daily practice with Shinpachi-kun."

Tsukuyo blinked when she saw Gintoki stiffened a little. "Oh, you know... stuff... I've been spending time with my family... practicing with the band and... well... other stuffs."

"Oh... Okay."

"We're here." She looked up and indeed, they already arrived at the cafe. They entered and sat in one of the booths. The cafe was strangely quiet today. There were only five people, including the bartender, inside the building. Tsukuyo rummaged inside her bag to pull out her purse when she realized she had forgotten her textbooks.

"Oh no. I forgot my textbooks."

"What? How come you forgot them? You're usually more careful than me."

"I... I was so excited about this and... well, I went out the door before anyone else did. I guess I left them inside my desk drawer," she explained in embarrassment.

Gintoki shook his head but a playful smile was dancing on his lips. "So what're you gonna do?"

"Wait here. I'll go back to the school. It won't be long." The cafe was only a few kilometers from the school so she could take her textbooks fast and came back here.

"Sure." Gintoki nodded. Tsukuyo walked out of the cafe and went back to the school. After she's gone, Gintoki lounged in his seat and sighed. He was really looking forward to this, but what he had done these past few days made him feel... well... guilty. He had visited Asaemon's house and the temple a few times these days. He even had gotten to know her sisters, Ane and Mone, and even had had lunch with the family. They didn't go anywhere else, just hanging out around the temple, talking with each other and sometimes, playing with Komako. He could reasoned that he visited the temple more often because he was curious with her identity, but the truth was, it's not the only reason. He genuinely liked her company and in those days where Tsukuyo was busy to have time with him, he found himself walking toward her place. Asaemon looked, sounded and felt like _her_. He couldn't help himself.

He felt like he was cheating on Tsukuyo.

There was nothing happening between them really. Other than that one time when he first visited the temple by himself, Gintoki and Asaemon never even spent time alone. Usually Ane, Mone or both would be there with them. In a normal circumstance, it looked like two close friends hanging out with each other. Still, Gintoki felt guilty, as if he was overstepping a boundary. Perhaps, it had something to do with his feelings. He knew what he felt for Tsukuyo, but what did he feel for Asaemon? Did he felt the same for her as he had with _her_?

In his musings he missed a figure walking inside a cafe, a young woman with long wavy blonde hair and sky blue eyes.

"Seriously, that jerk. Making me wait for an hour without any apology. I'm so breaking up with him," she complained. She was about to walk pass the booth where Gintoki was sitting when she noticed him. She widened her eyes. "Yoshida Gintoki?"

Gintoki blinked when she called his name and turned to her. He saw her somewhere. He knew but he couldn't remember it. "And you are?"

Her smile turned flirtatious. "Sharon Manson. Tsukuyo's friend in elementary school. We met in the shopping district a few months ago, remember?"

At the mention of her name, Gintoki frowned instantly. "Yeah, right. That's you." He turned away from her and looked out the window, openly ignoring her.

Not deterred by his cold demeanor she slid into the booth and sat on the chair in front of him. "Are you alone here?"

"No, I'm with Tsukuyo."

"Then where is she?"

"She forgot something and went back to our school."

"Oh, wow... For someone who is hailed as the smartest student, she sure is forgetful."

"Look, I don't want to hear you badmouthing _my girlfriend_ in front of me, okay," Gintoki said, putting emphasis on the words.

"Oh, I'm sorry about it." But she didn't look sorry at all. Gintoki gave her cold shoulder and turned to watching out the window again.

"If you have nothing to do with me, I suggest you leave. That seat you are sitting on is Tsukuyo's seat, so you better go before she comes back."

She smirked. "What if I give you company while you wait for her?" She leaned toward him, intentionally putting her hands under her busts to present to him.

Gintoki smirked. "Sorry, but any sweet drink will taste bitter when you're having a drink with a slut." Sharon, taken aback, pulled away from him. Gintoki leaned toward her, grinning sadistically, his eyes flashing light red. "You think I don't know? I know from your mannerism just what kind of person you are. Manipulative Succubus with poisonous mouth and greedy mind. Tsukuyo never told me anything but from her reaction at you, I could tell that she was one of your _victims_. And I know from another source that you are indeed the kind of girl I thought you are." He sneered. "Sorry, but there are just some things in this world that you can't have. You can tuck your tail between your ugly ass and get away from here, bringing your hideous and ugly mug away from me. Cause really, being in your vicinity already makes me sick."

Sharon gaped at him. She tried to speak but she couldn't find her voice. This was the first time a guy rejected her advances and insulted her right into her face.

Gintoki waved a hand in front of her face. "Hello? You there? I told you to go away, you hear me? Or do you lost your voice. That's kind of good cause that prison warden voice of yours is torture."

That snapped her from her stupor. "You... what, you... h-how dare you! How dare you say that to me! Are you even Yoshida's son?! You sound like an uncultured delinquent!"

"Well, hello Miss. I do happen to be a former delinquent. And a sadistic one too." Gintoki eyed her. "I know what kind of person you are." He gave her a crooked smirk. "A person who doesn't have anything and doesn't feel happy about herself so she insults and abuses anyone around her to make herself feel better." He looked at Sharon's shocked expression. "Am I right?"

Sharon gaped at him and he raised an eyebrow. "Anyway, if you don't move, then I'll move," he said as he got up from his seat.

"Wait! I'm not finish talking with you!"

"Well, I am," Gintoki said as he walked pass her. "By the way, you better quiet down before you embarrass yourself. Your screaming is drawing attention to you." And sure enough, everyone in the cafe, including the bartender, had stopped what they're doing to look at her.

Sharon's face was red from anger and embarrassment. "Come back here you ruffian!" She grabbed his arm with both her hands before he could go far. He was about to yank his arm, but then he froze.

Gintoki could feel it. A killing intent so strong in the air. Sharon was still ranting with red face but he didn't hear her. He covertly looked at their surroundings. He saw the bartender and the other customers watching them subtly. But the way they were watching didn't look amused, like they were watching a real-life drama. Instead, they were watching them like a hawk toward its prey. Realization dawned on him.

Gintoki yanked his arm from Sharon's grip and grabbed her upper arm, his hold so strong that she winced. He whispered in her ear, "Let's get out of here."

"What?" He grabbed his bag and dragged her outside the cafe. She winced at his tight grip, complaining along the way of how violent he was handling her. They walked out of the building and Gintoki brought them as far away from the cafe as possible.

"Hey! What's going on?! Why are you-" Sharon stopped mid-sentence after looking at his expression. His eyes were sharp, his mouth in a straight line and all his muscles taut. He looked at their surroundings. After seeing that the street was empty except for two cars in the parking lot, he cursed silently.

 _So this is why they choose this time of the day to do it._

"W-what's wrong?" Sharon asked nervously. Even she could feel how tensed Gintoki was.

"I need to get you out of here, before they come out."

"They?"

Suddenly, men armed with axes and clubs came out of the two cars and from the cafe. Sharon gasped at the sight while Gintoki tensed even more as he sneered.

"Yes, them."

The only good thing about the situation was that Tsukuyo was not here.

* * *

Tsukuyo was running back toward the cafe as fast as she could. She thought the books were in her drawer but she was wrong. She searched around her desk and around the class, until she finally found them inside her locker. She sighed internally. She hoped Gintoki wouldn't be too annoyed. The street around the school was very quiet at this time of day, though she found it to be too suspiciously quiet.

She stopped her running when she saw a figure running from the opposite direction. Another blond girl with long wavy hair. Her pretty and expensive dress was dirty, her long hair was dishevelled and she looked frantic with fear and panic.

"Sharon?"

The girl turned to look at her and yes, it was indeed Sharon Manson, her classmate in elementary school. Tsukuyo frowned when she saw the fear and panic in the other girl's eyes.

"Tsu-Tsukuyo... I..." Sharon ran to her and clutched Tsukuyo's hands. "Gintoki... your boyfriend... men... clubs... b-blood..."

"Calm down. Tell me what happened?"

"G-Gintoki... is fighting men with clubs... and axes... there are bloods everywhere... I..."

Tsukuyo widened her eyes. "What about him?"

"He seemed fine... He... he told me to run away... I... I left him..."

Tsukuyo frowned and gave Sharon once-over. "What about you? You're not hurt? Did something happen to you too? Did those men touch you?"

Sharon stood frozen in place. She looked at Tsukuyo in shock, surprised and confused that other girl was worried about her.

"Sharon! Are you okay?! You're not responding!"

Sharon snapped out of her thought. "I'm fine. They did manage to touch me, but they weren't able to hurt me because Gintoki's protecting me." Something then dawned on her. "He was fighting there alone! We have to help him!" Although Gintoki had insulted her and treated her in violent manner, he still protected her and saved her life. Sharon knew that if anything happened to him, she would blame herself.

"Don't worry. I'll go help him. You just go as far away from here as possible."

"But-"

"Go!" Tsukuyo said, before she was running toward the cafe.

When she arrived in front of the cafe, it was like sight she saw after their first martial arts training weeks ago. Gintoki was fighting dozens of men all by himself. They were armed with clubs and axes while he fought them barehanded. His bag was shoved far aside. Apparently he didn't have a chance to draw his weapons before his bag was kicked aside because he was busy protecting Sharon. However, even without weapon Gintoki was still lethal. Tsukuyo watched as Gintoki got close to the enemy, easily disarming his opponent, taking the club in his hand and smashed his opponent's head with his own club. He then jumped above the men, using their shoulders and head as footing and with a spinning kick in the air, was able to hit two of them on the neck. Some of the men had already fallen on the ground while around ten of them were still standing.

"Gintoki!" Tsukuyo ran toward him.

"Tsukuyo?!" Gintoki turned to look at her.

"I'll help you!"

"No! Don't!"

But she didn't listen to him. Two of the men turned toward her, ready to handle her she guessed. When they swung their club and axe toward her, she easily dodged them. They were slow compared to Gintoki's roundhouse kick during their training. She disarmed their weapon and took them down with a kick to the gut and nuts. Hey, don't blame her. Gintoki was the one who taught her to do it to a male opponent during a live-or-die situation. Of course she wouldn't do it in a friendly fight. Tsukuyo was happy that her training finally paid off.

Tsukuyo ran passed them toward Gintoki to help him when she saw one of the men raising his club toward him.

"GINTOKI LOOK OUT!"

But she was too late. Gintoki got hit by the club right on his head. He fell onto the ground, blood pouring from the back of his head. "GINTOKI!" Tsukuyo ran to her boyfriend and kneeled beside him.

"Idiot! Don't do that! Don't aim for the head! What if you damage the chip!" another man reprimanded his comrade.

"I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to harm him."

"We're supposed to bring him back alive!" another one added.

 _What?_ Tsukuyo looked at them in confusion. They seemed to be arguing about something. Did they say something about a chip?

"What chip? What are you talking about? You're supposed to bring Gintoki back alive?"

The men turned to her, as if remembering that she was there. "It's none of your business. Now, if you want to see the next day, you better stay back and let us take him."

Tsukuyo stood in front of Gintoki, blocking him from them. "I will not."

"Then it's your last day." They raised their clubs and axes once more and she got down to a fighting position, ready to defend Gintoki from them. Suddenly, they heard the sound of siren from afar, approaching their location fast.

"The police!" one of the men shouted.

"Could it be Shinsengumi or Mimawarigumi?!"

"Let's get out of here for now!"

"What about the others?!"

"Leave them!"

The men who were still standing ran away at the sound of the police siren. It took only three seconds for the police cars to flood the cafe parking lot. Cops wearing white and gold uniform came out of the cars, pistols raised, and handcuffed the men lying on the ground. Mimawarigumi.

A familiar man wearing a monocle walked toward Tsukuyo. She saw this man in Nobume's birthday party. "Good afternoon Miss. I'm Sasaki Isaburo, the commander of Mimawarigumi. I'm sorry it took so long for us to reach you. Are you alright?"

"I-I'm fine. But Gintoki..." Tsukuyo trailed off as she turned to her boyfriend. She was about to reach to him when she heard a growl. She watched as Gintoki tried to stand up. He was on his knees and elbows, and letting out a low and coarse sound, like an animal. She widened her eyes in shock and confusion. "G-Gintoki... are you al-"

Sasaki put a hand on her shoulder and pushed her back as he approached Gintoki. The older man looked at the blood on the back of Gintoki's head. "Was he hit on the head?"

"Yes."

Sasaki frowned. He approached Gintoki, kneeled beside him and put a hand on his back. "Gintoki-kun." Gintoki looked up and Tsukuyo gasped out loud. Gintoki's gaze was sharp. So sharp like a beast watching its prey, ready to pounce. His usually blood red eyes were glinting like molten lava. He grit his teeth and let out an inhuman growl. While Tsukuyo was shocked, Sasaki seemed to be unaffected by it. "Gintoki-kun, it's me." Gintoki turned his attention from Tsukuyo to the older man. "Do you remember me? I'm Sasaki Isaburo." Gintoki growled at him, his hands clenched in a fist. Sasaki pulled out an injection needle from his coat pocket and injected whatever it is inside the tube into Gintoki's upper arm. Gintoki's eyelids dropped and he collapsed into Sasaki's arms.

"Whar are you doing?! What did you give him?!"

"It's just sleeping potion, don't worry. He'll sleep now." Tsukuyo observed Gintoki and saw that his chest was moving up and down in a steady rhythm. He was indeed asleep. She let out a sigh in relief.

"We will take him to the hospital. Hey! Help me out here!" Sasaki instructed two of his men to help him carry Gintoki into a car. Tsukuyo wanted to help. She wanted to be beside him because she was still worried about him, but Sasaki held her back. "Let them do it. He'll be fine." Tsukuyo wasn't very convinced, but she stayed back.

The image of Gintoki's feral behavior earlier made her freeze, rooted in her spot. What was that just now? Gintoki never acted like that. He looked like a beast. What happened that made him act that way? She then blinked and turned to Sasaki. "By the way, how did you know we were here, Sasaki-san?"

"Your friend called us. Thankfully, we're doing patrol around the nearby area and were able to come here quickly."

Sasaki pointed toward a police car that had just arrived. Sharon walked out of the passenger's seat and to Tsukuyo's surprise, she ran to her and hugged her.

"Tsukuyo! Thank goodness you're okay! How about Gintoki?"

"He's injured on the head. But he'll be fine. They're taking him to the hospital." Tsukuyo looked at Gintoki wistfully. Before she could walk toward him, an officer approached her and Sharon.

"Hoshina-san, Manson-san, I'm sorry but we have to take you back to our station to ask you some questions." He followed Tsukuyo's gaze to Gintoki. "Yoshida-san will be alright. He will get treatment. Now, please come with us." The officer ushered Tsukuyo and Sharon to a different car from Gintoki. They were taken to Mimawarigumi station, near Gintama Academy. Tsukuyo noticed that both Mimawarigumi and Shinsengumi each had two stations located near Gintama school, Mimawarigumi on the east and west side and Shinsengumi on the north and south side, with the academy in the middle. It's like they were guarding the school itself, but for what reason, she didn't know.

Tsukuyo and Sharon were asked by the police separately. The one who interrogated Tsukuyo so happened to be Sasaki himself. Tsukuyo told him everything she heard from the conversation among the men, about the chip. Sasaki listened to her silently.

"Thank you for the information, Hoshina-san. You can go home now. One of my men will take you and Manson-san home after we finish the report. Please wait outside."

"Wait, Sasaki-san! What about Gintoki?"

Sasaki gave her a small smile. "Gintoki-kun will be fine. I'll call Shouyou to tell him what happened."

Tsukuyo didn't know what else to do. She felt like they were trying to hide something from her. But right now, she could only wait. She came out of the office and saw Sharon sitting on a stool, waiting for the officer that would take them home. She offered a weak smile toward Tsukuyo. Tsukuyo smiled weakly at her. "Thank you for calling the police."

Sharon widened her eyes in surprise. She then looked down, fidgeting a little. "You're... thanking me?"

"Of course. Without you, Gintoki and I might have already been dead by now."

Sharon bit her lip. She gathered enough courage to look up at Tsukuyo. "I... Tsukuyo?"

"Yes?"

"I'm... sorry..."

Tsukuyo blinked. "Sorry?"

"Yes... for everything. Everything I did to you back in our childhood. I know that this is so sudden and I know that it's probably too late by now but... I just want to apologize. I was horrible to you. Very horrible. And yet, you were worried about me. You told me to run while you faced the danger yourself. I... I felt so terrible when I left you and Gintoki back then. I didn't know what to do. The least I could do was calling the police. I felt so horrible. I..." She paused. "I actually always felt horrible. Even back then." Tsukuyo frowned in confusion as Sharon sighed. "I never told anyone about this but... my mother was a mistress you know?" Tsukuyo gasped. "She had an affair with my father when he came to Japan for business meeting and they had to do shotgun marriage to hide that fact when my mother was pregnant. My father's family doesn't like me and my mother. My father... well let's just say that he saw me as his sin and never wanted to see me. Yes he gives me money and luxury but not love. He lives in America with his family while my mother and I are left here. Yes I do visit him in America once in a while but he treated me like I don't even exist."

"Sharon..." Tsukuyo said weakly.

"I spend my time outside with different guys at a time. I was hungry for affection you know. Affection from a male, one that my father never gave me. But it never satisfies me. What Gintoki said was actually right."

Tsukuyo blinked. "What did he say to you?"

"That I make others feel horrible to make myself feel better... I... was always jealous of you, you know..."

Tsukuyo suck on a breath in shock. "What?"

"Yes. You're the smartest girl in our school. And you're very pretty, even with your scars. Even prettier than me. I always mocked your face to make myself feel more superior and more beautiful than you. I don't have any talent. I'm not smart either. The only thing I have is money. And you even manage to look prettier than me even with your scars. So... yeah... I was jealous... I'm sorry. I know what kind of person I am. I always knew in the back of my head. But it took someone to say it to my face for me to admit it."

Tsukuyo smiled weakly. "Well, Gintoki always tends to be brutally honest. It gets him into trouble more than it gives him luck."

Sharon chuckled a little, but then she looked down on her lap, her face burning. She was afraid of looking at Tsukuyo. Tsukuyo smiled and kneeled in front of her. "Well, you kind of paid it off today. So I guess I forgive you."

Sharon looked up to see Tsukuyo smiling at her. She smiled slowly as well. "I... Sorry Tsukuyo... For everything I did. And thank you for forgiving me."

"It's okay."

"Do you think... we can be friends?"

"I guess this means we are friends."

They smiled at each other and hugged. This changed Tsukuyo's memory of her childhood a little. While she still felt horrible about the past bullying, she could let go of pain little by little. She tried to forgive what Sharon did and moved on. And she had a new friend now.

"How is your life now? Is it better?" Sharon asked her. Tsukuyo smiled.

"It's been great. I go to an awesome school where I get a lot of great friends. I have a wonderful family, with a kind older sister and a kind nephew. I have a wonderful boyfriend, whose family accept me for who I am and treat me like I am a part of them. And now, I have a new friend too."


	15. Coming clean with feelings

The next day, Tsukuyo made a beeline toward Shinsuke and Kotarou when they walked into the class. The bell almost rang and the first lesson of the day almost started. "Kotarou! Shinsuke!" The two Yoshida brothers turned to her as she walked toward them with a worried expression. "How's Gintoki?"

The two looked at each other, debating what to tell her. The frown on their faces didn't make her any less worried.

"Gintoki is still resting in our house, Tsukuyo-san. He won't come to school today. But he will be fine, don't worry," Kotarou tried to reassure her.

"Can I visit him after school?"

"NO!" they said in unison hurriedly. Tsukuyo widened her eyes then squinted at them in worry and suspicion.

"He's still under doctor's examination. And he needs some rest," Shinsuke said quickly. When Tsukuyo was about to argue he quickly added, "Look, I know you're worried about him but you really can't see him right now. In fact, he's not allowed to have any visitor for now. We promise we'll tell you when he's ready to have any visitor, you'll be the first to know."

Tsukuyo still didn't look convinced. She was sure that they were hiding something from her. The fact that Gintoki was targeted by kidnappers twice... The mention of a chip... What was that all about?

"Gintoki did get hit on the head, but it wasn't fatal. He will be alright. Don't worry too much," Kotarou said, giving her a reassuring smile. She smiled back weakly.

Tsukuyo thought that this was the best time to ask them about all the things that confused her. But before she could get a word out, the bell rang, signaling that class was about to start. _I guess I'll talk to them later._

But it turned out, it wasn't that easy. The rest of the day, she was surrounded by her friends, asking her about what happened the day before, or asking about either her condition or Gintoki's. She told them that it was all just a kidnapping attempt, she was fine and while Gintoki was injured, he would be okay as well. Whenever she was free to talk to the Yoshida brothers, Shinsuke and Kotarou were always with other people. This was something personal and she knew she had to talk about it with them in private. She decided to catch them before they're going home later.

* * *

"So that's what happened last night..."

"Will he be okay?"

"I hope so. He was still unconscious, though."

Nobume, Kamui and Sougo were walking out of their class together, with Nobume telling the boys about what happened to Gintoki the previous day. Kamui leaned toward Nobume and whispered in her ear, "What about the chip?"

Nobume frowned. "We don't know yet. We haven't had time to bring him to Hattori-san for rontgen."

Sougo and Kamui fell silent. "What if he became like your father back then?" Sougo said silently.

All colors disappear from Nobume's face. "God, I hope he won't."

She still remembered that day. The day of the massacre. When their father became someone else. Someone they didn't know. And Gintoki's sacrifice for them.

She hoped her brother won't experience the same thing.

The three freshmen were strangely silent as they walked toward the school gate. Each of them were mulling over what would happen next. Sougo and Kamui were one of the few people who knew about the 'secret'. Kamui because he's their cousin and Sougo mainly because of Shinsengumi's involvement in this. That's why other than her family, Nobume could only talk about these things with them. She still felt alienated from some of her schoolmates sometimes. Not all of the students were part of 'them'.

"Sorry, Nobume. I have to pick Kagura at the elementary school," Kamui said.

"And I have a promise to meet Kondo-san... With Hijibastard," Sougo added, frowning.

Nobume smirked. "Don't be too hard on him. He's your future brother-in-law, you know."

The corner of Sougo's mouth twitched. "Never. I will never accept him for my sister."

"Well _I_ don't accept _you_ for my sister," Kamui added with a dark smile.

"Who said I was interested in that glutton?"

"Oh really? Then stop flirting with her."

"I'm not flirting, I'm just messing around with her."

"That's as good as flirting in my book."

Nobume rolled her eyes. _Here they go again_. "Sure, whatever. Go ahead you two."

"What about you?" Sougo asked.

"I'll be going home with Shin-nii. After what happened with Gin-nii, Dad said we should go home together for safety's sake. Of course we are perfectly fine on our own, but you know our Dad. He wanted us to go home together whenever we could help it." She sighed. "He's too protective sometimes. He even called Obo-nii back and asked him to stay home for a while."

"What about Kotarou-san?"

"He'sa having a date with Ikumatsu-san, so it's just going to be me and Shin-nii" she replied, carefully keeping her expression flat, not to betray any anxiety she felt at the moment. She didn't tell them how it made her feel uncomfortable. In fact, she didn't know if she could tell anyone about her... symptoms regarding her green-eyed brother. Being alone with Shinsuke still gave that effect in her. She had an idea of what she's feeling but she didn't want to admit it just yet. Mostly because she couldn't believe she actually had that kind of feeling toward one of her brothers. She couldn't tell anybody. She feared their judgments.

"Okay then. See you."

After saying good bye to her two friends, Nobume sighed and leaned on the sakura tree beside the school's parking lot. There were a lot of things happening lately. High school. Shinsuke. Kidnappers. Shinsuke. Chip. Shinsuke again.

She bit her lower lip.

"What should I do?"

* * *

When Kotarou was ready to go, Tsukuyo called him quickly. "Wait, Kotarou! Can we talk for a while?"

"Sorry Tsukuyo-san. I have an appointment with Ikumatsu-senpai. She's waiting for me at her dormitory. I'm in a hurry. See you tomorrow." With that, he dashed out the door before Tsukuyo could even blink.

"Appointment?"

"In other words, a 'date'," a voice said behind her. Tsukuyo turned around to see Shinsuke, his bag over his shoulder. When he walked toward the door, she quickly called him.

"Wait, Shinsuke!"

"Hmm?"

"Can I talk to you for a second?"

He blinked and realization dawned on him. "Is this about Gintoki?"

"Kind of."

Shinsuke was silent for a long few seconds. Then he turned around, his back facing her. "I'm meeting Nobume to go home together with her. We can talk on the way."

As he walked, Tsukuyo quickly caught up to him and walked beside him. The school corridor was almost empty so no one was likely to hear what they're talking about.

"So what is it?"

"Gintoki... is he always targeted by kidnappers? I mean he seemed to be safe before. The kidnapping attempts only started recently."

His lips twitched a little. "Gintoki was targeted a lot yes. He was Yoshida family member after all."

"But I've never heard of any kidnapping attempt on you, Kotarou, Oboro-san or Nobume-chan."

Shinsuke grew silent. He was sweating a little. "Gintoki is... special... He... has 'something' that we don't have."

"Like a chip?"

Shinsuke turned to look at her, so fast that his neck made a cracking sound. He flinched a little and rubbed his neck. "How do you... where did you..."

"The kidnappers," she said simply. "One of them told the one who hit Gintoki not to hurt him or they'll damage the chip."

Shinsuke gaped.

"What was that mean, Shinsuke? Was the chip, whatever it is, is the reason Gintoki is targeted?"

After a moment, he turned away from her. "It's complicated."

"It's not if you explain to me."

"Look, I don't have the right to do it. If anything, the one who supposes to tell you is Gintoki, so ask him." Tsukuyo went quiet but she stared at him defiantly. He sighed. "Look... It's complicated, okay. It's just... For you to understand it, I have to tell you from the beginning and really, it's a long story. The only thing I can tell you is that yes, they're targeting him for the chip. I can't tell you what it is or what the situation is about. Let's just say that Gintoki is... taking something dangerous with him."

Tsukuyo frowned after hearing that. Knowing that Gintoki was in danger made her heart clenched. If he was truly in danger, the more reason for her to stay by his side. He was always saving and protecting her. It was her turn to protect him. "Why can't you just put this 'chip' inside somewhere safe and guard it instead of having him carry it around?"

Shinsuke stopped walking, his head was down, hiding his face from her. He then said in a quiet voice, so quiet that she almost didn't catch what he's saying, "He is the only one who can bear it..."

" _Bear_ it?"

Without them realizing, they had already outside on the school ground. "We'll talk about this some other time." He walked away from her, toward Nobume who was leaning on the sakura tree near the parking lot.

"Wait! Shinsuke..."

"I can't tell you more than that right now." He turned his head to look at her over his shoulder. "You should ask Gintoki yourself." With that he walked away.

Tsukuyo was standing in the middle of the school ground, mulling over what she had heard.

* * *

"What are you talking about with Tsukuyo-san?" Nobume asked her brother as they both readied their respective motorcycles.

"About Gintoki. She's worried about him. Not surprising since she was there in both incidents. He kept asking me to tell the truth but of course I can't," he said, turning on the engine of his bike.

"Oh," Nobume replied as she silently turned on her bike as well. When she saw Shinsuke and Tsukuyo walking out of the building together, her heart clenched in her chest and she had to struggle to keep her face blank. She wanted so badly to ask him about it. To ask him whether he truly liked Tsukuyo. She was almost afraid of the answer.

"You've been getting closer lately," she approached carefully.

"Hmm? Who?"

"You and Tsukuyo-san."

Shinsuke blinked at her and then shrugged. "Well, we're classmates so that's to be expected and since she's Gintoki's girlfriend, what's wrong with being nice to her a little."

Nobume felt tightness in her chest. "Is that really the only reason?"

He squinted at her, not understanding where this was going. "What do you mean? What is this all about?"

"N-nothing!"

"No it can't be nothing. You've been acting weird lately. What's going on?"

Feeling flustered, Nobume decided to just confront him with her suspicion. "Don't you feel sad whenever Tsukuyo-san's talking about Gin-nii?"

"What? Why would I?"

"Oh I don't know. Because you like her maybe?"

Shinsuke's fingers went slack which caused his bike to fall sideway to the ground. He stared agape at Nobume, who looked back at him with a flat expression, but he thought he saw a flicker of hurt in her eyes. "You don't have to hide it from me, you know."

Shinsuke couldn't believe it. The girl he liked (who so happened to be his adoptive sister) thought that he liked someone else, their brother's girlfriend of all people.

He slapped his hand over his forehead, hard. "What the... You... where did you get that idea? I do NOT have feelings for Tsukuyo!"

Nobume frowned, her blank expression broken to show displeasure. "Oh really? Then what's with the secret conversations, and the blushes you get when she talks to you?"

"What the... You think I blush because of her?"

"Well, what else do you blush for? Unless you two are talking about dirty stuff all the time, which I think is unlikely, I don't see any reason."

"No, look... We're talking about my... ahem... secret crush on a girl."

Nobume blinked. "What?"

"Do you remember the song I sang during your birthday party? The one I wrote for a special person? Tsukuyo realized right away who I meant and she confronted me about it. Ever since then, she's been trying to help me get this girl."

Nobume fell silent. "So when she ran to you after the concert, and when you two disappeared for a while..."

"We were talking about that."

"And the blushes?"

He sighed. "Tsukuyo has been teasing me about this girl ever since. She kept pushing me to confess to her but I couldn't do it for some reasons."

She raised her eyebrow. "Say, why did you talk about this girl with Tsukuyo-san but didn't talk about it with me, Gin-nii, Kota-nii, Obo-nii, or even Dad?"

He looked away from her. "I can't tell you that."

Nobume frowned. The pain she felt in her heart came back. She tried to ignore the fact that Shinsuke liked another girl and was keeping it secret from her and tried to think about what he had said. So Tsukuyo was just helping Shinsuke get this mysterious girl? That could make senses but somehow, she was still not convinced. "But what do you mean when you said she 'helped' you stop smoking?"

"What? You're hung up on that? Look, it's just a bet you know? A bet. Remember the night she first came to our house to have dinner with us? She and I faced each other in the race game?"

"Uh-huh?"

"Well before that, she caught me smoking red-handed. She made a bet that if she won, I would try to stop smoking. And she did win, so I quitted. It's as simple as that."

"Just that?"

Just that."

Nobume frowned. "But what about the day you sang that song? You were clearly looking her way. You wrote that song for her, right?"

"What?! I did not!"

"Yes you did! You were looking toward our table!"

"I wasn't looking at her! I was looking at YOU! YOU'RE the one I wrote that song for!"

After the admission, everything fell silent around them. After a long few seconds, Shinsuke realized what he had just said and all the colors drained from his face. He looked at Nobume who stared agape at him. She seemed to be in a great shock. Panicking, he quickly picked up his fallen bike and started the engine again. He muttered "I'm sorry" before quickly riding away out of the parking lot.

His leaving finally snapped Nobume out of it.

"What?! WAIT! SHIN-NII!"

But Shinsuke already rode away from the school, not looking back at her.

* * *

Bansai was enjoying the music he played with his guitar. He was in complete harmony with the song when the loud sound of his door bell destroyed his peace. Sighing, he put away his guitar and walked out of his room to open the door. He peeked into the hole to see the person who had disturbed his peace, only to see his friend Shinsuke... with the most troubled look he had ever seen his friend wore and, was that blush on his face? Yup, it's definitely blush. He was as red as a cherry.

The bell rang again.

"Bansai! Are you home?!" Shinsuke shouted.

Bansai opened the door and let him in. "Shinsuke, what're you doing? Don't get me wrong, you're welcome here but you usually texted me first before coming over. What happened?"

Shinsuke was flustered and he walked back and forth in the middle of Bansai's living room. The taller boy had never seen him like this. Something big must have had happened.

"Bansai, I can't go home right now. Can I stay the night here?"

* * *

"Welcome home, Tsukuyo-nee!" Seita exclaimed, greeting his aunt at the front of their humble house. "How's Gin-nii doing now? Is he alright? He's not going to die, right?"

"Seita!" his mother reprimanded him from inside the house.

Tsukuyo smiled. "He's fine Seita, don't worry. He's not going to die either."

"Have you seen him?"

She looked down sadly. "I can't see him right now. He's not allowed to have visitors. But Kotarou and Shinsuke said he'll be alright soon."

"Oh..." Seita said a little disappointed. She couldn't blame him. She was worried sick about her boyfriend and was dying to see him too.

Tsukuyo forced a smile and put a hand on her nephew's head. "Come on. Let's help your Mom prepare dinner. I heard we'll be having monjayaki tonight."

Seita cheered up a little and skipped all the way to the kitchen. Arriving at the kitchen, Tsukuyo came face to face with her older sister.

"Welcome home," Hinowa greeted her with her usual bright smile. "Any news about Gintoki-kun?"

Tsukuyo's smile dropped a little. "Sadly no. Kotarou and Shinsuke said he'll be fine, though."

"I see. Shouyou-san said the same thing."

The young girl perked up at this. "What? You contacted Shouyou-san? What did he say?"

"Not much really. I just texted him because I'm afraid I'd disturb him during an important meeting if I called. He said that Gintoki-kun was okay." Hinowa went quiet as she's reminded of their latest conversation.

* * *

 _"I heard about what happened from Tsukuyo. Is Gintoki-kun okay?"_

 _It took quite a long time for Shouyou to reply. "Yes, he's alright. Thank you for worrying about him."_

 _Sensing something off, she asked him, "What about you? Are you alright?"_

 _"I am fine. Don't worry. Just a little busier than usual."_

 _"Please don't overwork yourself. I don't want you to get sick."_

 _"Don't worry. I am less likely to fall sick."_

 _"Are you sure you're alright? Do you want to talk?"_

 _"I would love to but I can't right now. I'm sorry Hinowa but I have to go. I'll call you later."_

 _"Alright. Take care."_

* * *

Even through text, Hinowa could sense that there's something wrong with Shouyou. It was not a surprise. He was busy with his job and his son was almost kidnapped twice. Of course he would have a lot of things in his mind at the time. She really wanted to help him but she didn't know how.

Suddenly, their doorbell rang.

"I'll get it," Tsukuyo said. She walked to the door and opened it, to see Nobume with the most troubled look Tsukuyo had ever seen her wore. Was she... blushing?

"Nobume-chan what's wrong?" She grabbed the Yoshida girl's hand and pulled her into the house.

Nobume looked flustered and she was fidgeting. She grabbed the older girl's hands and squeezed them.

"Tsukuyo-san, Shin-nii just sort of confessed to me about his feelings and I just realized that I'm in love with him."


	16. Is it still incest if we're adopted?

**Hi, I'm back! It's been so long since I updated this story. There are many things I can say to reason with you all but the truth is... I've been busy. It's the truth. I just graduated from college and was looking for a job. Coincidentally, my mother was diagnosed with cancer. What a coincidence indeed. On top of that, I was a little bit distracted from Gintama by another anime, -Man. It's such a good story with dark undertone and some humor. The tone was completely different from Gintama and I really love it. I already knew about it a long time ago and have just tried it a few months ago. But of course I also love this fandom. I love both anime for very different reasons.**

 **Anyway, here's the continuation of the story.**

"Obo-nii, I want to stay the night at Tsukuyo-san's house... No they don't mind... I can borrow Tsukuyo-san's clothes and I have my school uniform with me... What's wrong with staying the night at a friend's house? I stayed the night at Kamui's house all the time... Well, granted he's our cousin but... No I'm not! Why are you so suspicious?!"

Tsukuyo was listening to Nobume's conversation on the phone as she helped Hinowa prepared dinner in the kitchen. What Nobume had said just now replaying in her mind.

So Nobume liked Shinsuke.

And Shinsuke liked Nobume.

The easy way to handle it is by them getting together. But of course their situation is not that simple. They are siblings. Well, ADOPTIVE siblings. They are not related by blood so technically, they can marry. But they lived in the same house and had the same family name. It would be very awkward.

"It's very complicated, isn't it?"

Tsukuyo snapped up to see her sister smiling knowingly.

"Did you hear our conversation?"

"I couldn't help but overhear it. And I already had my suspicion since the vacation."

The vacation... right. She remembered Nobume confiding about her feeling to both Tsukuyo and Hinowa. Obviously, she had been talking about Shinsuke back then. Having feelings for your sibling must be weird, adoptive or not. She wondered how Gintoki, Shouyou, Kotarou and Oboro would react if they found out about this.

Finally, Nobume ended her phone call with Oboro and entered the kitchen. She looked at the sisters apologetically. "I'm sorry for intruding."

"No, no, we're happy to have you here," Hinowa said, smiling at the dark-haired girl. "But our house is so small and we only have three rooms. I'm afraid you have to share a room with Tsukuyo tonight."

"I don't mind," Nobume replied. She fiddled with her phone nervously. "I'm sorry for coming here so suddenly. It's just... I don't know where to go. I can't go to Kamui or Sougo for this kind of thing. And... I can't go back home." _I can't see him right now,_ was what she tried to say, but the sisters understood.

Hinowa gave her a motherly smile. "Don't worry Nobume. I'm actually happy that you trust us and feel close enough to us to come here when you are in trouble. You are welcome to stay here as long as you want."

Tsukuyo nodded, giving the younger girl her own smile. "Do you want to change out of that uniform? I think I have some clothes that may fit you."

Nobume nodded and smiled weakly. She followed Tsukuyo to her room, where the blonde picked some clothes for Nobume to wear. She gave it to Nobume, who gripped the clothes in her hands. She still looked like she wanted to say something but didn't know how to.

"Don't worry. We can talk after dinner." Tsukuyo walked out of the room, closing the door behind her, giving Nobume the privacy to change.

* * *

Hinowa, the angel that she was, had the idea of making donuts for desserts (how she could cook so many food in such a short time, Tsukuyo had never known. It was a special skill of her sister, along with sewing). She knew that donut was one of the things that could cheer Nobume up so she made plenty of them for her.

As expected, Nobume's eyes lit up and she seemed to forget about her earlier distress. She hugged Hinowa, asking her if she could call her "Mommy" already since she was bound to marry her father, which caused Hinowa to blush and laugh at the same time. The Hoshino family plus Nobume had a nice dinner together, where Seita and Nobume were engaged in a competition to find out who could eat the most donut. Tsukuyo wondered that if someday, her sister married Gintoki and Nobume's father, the two family could have such a nice dinner together like this.

When the dinner was over, Seita went to his room to go to sleep, Hinowa cleaned up in the kitchen with Nobume (who insisted on helping her), and Tsukuyo went to her room to prepare the extra bed for Nobume. After they were done cleaning up, Hinowa bid Tsukuyo and Nobume good night and went to her own room.

Nobume lied down on the extra bed while Tsukuyo turned off the light before going to her own bed. The younger girl had not mentioned anything about what she said when she came here in the afternoon, but Tsukuyo figured that they could talk in the morning. Just as she was about to fall asleep, Nobume finally talked.

"Tsukuyo-san? Are you still awake?"

Tsukuyo blinked, trying to get rid of the sleep in her eyes. "Yes Nobume. What is it?"

"Um... about what I said..."

"Oh... yes..."

There was a lengthy silence that followed. Tsukuyo waited patiently for Nobume to continue.

"Is it wrong to fall in love with you brother?"

Tsukuyo looked down at Nobume, who was staring at the ceiling with blank expression. She tried to think of the right thing to say before replying. "Love is just love. It is something you feel but cannot control. I don't think you can choose who you can and cannot love. There is nothing wrong with loving someone."

"Even if that person is the one you're not supposed to love?"

Tsukuyo went quiet for a second before nodding. "Yes."

Nobume's blank expression broke and she was frowning this time. Her hands came up to rest on her face. "But this is Shin-nii. He's my brother. Well, we're not exactly blood-related but still, it's... it's weird!" Nobume huffed, her hands falling back down. Tsukuyo didn't know what to say to that so she stayed silent.

"You know," Nobume began again, "I think this feeling had started since long ago. That doesn't mean I love him since we were kids or anything. I mean, I loved him but not in that kind of way yet. But it must have grown since long ago." Nobume's expression turned thoughtful, her eyes glazed. "Now that I think about it, I always felt drawn to Shinsuke. It's just... there's just something that makes him different from Gin-nii, Kota-nii and Obo-nii." Tsukuyo raised her eyebrow. This was the first time she heard Nobume calling Shinsuke without honorific for older brothers. It's like she's distancing herself from him. "There is darkness in him. Well, there is darkness in all of us actually. Obo-nii hides it behind a stoic facade. Gin-nii hides it by being apathetic. Kota-nii has his own darkness, but he can be so naive and pure sometimes that it is not prominent. But Shinsuke... there are times that he proudly shows his darkness. It is raw and wild. It is a lot like mine. That is why I feel closer and sympathize with him more than with the others, I guess. Like him, I am rebellious. Sometimes, I don't bother hiding my darkness and pretend that we are like normal people. Knowing that there is someone like me... I guess in a way it's a comfort, in the most twisted way."

Nobume smiled darkly and cynically. Tsukuyo wondered what the siblings had endured in their childhood to turn them like this. She had heard from Shouyou that they were orphans who lost their parents during terrorist attacks but obviously, it was much more than that.

"Anyway, he and I are similar. I guess you can say that is why I'm drawn to him. But it is also more than that. It's the way he cares without outwardly showing it. It's the way he knows when I need support and when I can do things by myself. Obo-nii, Kota-nii and Dad fuss over me sometimes, and Even Gin-nii too. But not Shinsuke. It's like he knows when I need to be alone and when I really need a company. He's the one who understands me the most out of my family members. I always knew that I love him. But only after he confessed that I realize, I don't love him but I'm in love with him, darkness, quirks and all."

For a few seconds, neither girls said anything.

"What are you going to do about it?" Tsukuyo asked after a minute had passed.

"Honestly? I don't know. I know how to kick someone's ass but I don't know how to deal with my own romantic feelings for my brother. Ignore them, I guess. May be it will go away overtime."

Tsukuyo smiled weakly. "Nobume, love is not something that can easily disappear, and you can't avoid him forever."

"Not forever. Only until he goes to college, preferably far away from home, and then I don't have to see him every day."

 _It's ironic because that's exactly what Shinsuke said to me,_ Tsukuyo thought. "You know, Shinsuke said the same thing."

Nobume turned to look at Tsukuyo in surprise. She had just remembered that Tsukuyo had known about Shinsuke's feelings before Nobume told her about it. _That's right. He's been confiding to her all this time._

"He did?" the younger girl asked.

Tsukuyo nodded. "Yes. He kept looking at you when he sang that love song during you birthday party. I knew it was you so I confronted him about it. He spilled out everything to me."

Nobume's eyes widened. So Shinsuke was telling the truth.

"I think you two should talk about it."

The dark-haired girl flinched. "I don't think that's a good idea. I can hardly look at him without being a mess now. Urgh! How can we face each other again after this?!"

The blonde looked at her sympathetically. "You should talk if you don't want this to go on forever. You know that you and Shinsuke like each other. Then you guys should confront it. Whether you decide to stay together or separate after this, it's up to you."

Nobume let out a deep sigh. "And if... if we decide to... you know... date or... stay together, or whatever it is... What do you think Dad and the rest of the family will say?"

Tsukuyo looked at Nobume in the eyes. "If they truly love both of you, I think they will accept it. Besides, you're not related by blood so it's not like it's incest or anything. I'm sure they will be happy for you and Shinsuke if you decide to be together. I, for one, think that Gintoki won't care either way."

Nobume snorted and started to smile. She then bit her bottom lip. "Okay, I... I guess I'll talk to him tomorrow at school."

Tsukuyo smiled and nodded. "That's better. Now, let's go to sleep. We have a big day tomorrow."

"We do?"

"You forgot? Tomorrow the students from Sakura High School will come to prepare for the joint cultural festival."


End file.
